Prevalence and burden of HBV co-infection among people living with HIV:A global systematic review and meta-analysis

Globally, in 2017 35 million people were living with HIV (PLHIV) and 257 million had chronic HBV infection (HBsAg positive). The extent of HIV-HBsAg co-infection is unknown. We undertook a systematic review to estimate the global burden of HBsAg co-infection in PLHIV. We searched MEDLINE, Embase and other databases for published studies (2002-2018) measuring prevalence of HBsAg among PLHIV. The review was registered with PROSPERO (#CRD42019123388). Populations were categorized by HIV-exposure category. The global burden of co-infection was estimated by applying regional co-infection prevalence estimates to UNAIDS estimates of PLHIV. We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the odds of HBsAg among PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals. We identified 506 estimates (475 studies) of HIV-HBsAg co-infection prevalence from 80/195 (41.0%) countries. Globally, the prevalence of HIV-HBsAg co-infection is 7.6% (IQR 5.6%-12.1%) in PLHIV, or 2.7 million HIV-HBsAg co-infections (IQR 2.0-4.2). The greatest burden (69% of cases; 1.9 million) is in sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, there was little difference in prevalence of HIV-HBsAg co-infection by population group (approximately 6%-7%), but it was slightly higher among people who inject drugs (11.8% IQR 6.0%-16.9%). Odds of HBsAg infection were 1.4 times higher among PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals. There is therefore, a high global burden of HIV-HBsAg co-infection, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Key prevention strategies include infant HBV vaccination, including a timely birth-dose. Findings also highlight the importance of targeting PLHIV, especially high-risk groups for testing, catch-up HBV vaccination and other preventative interventions. The global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for PLHIV using a tenofovir-based ART regimen provides an opportunity to simultaneously treat those with HBV co-infection, and in pregnant women to also reduce mother-to-child transmission of HBV alongside HIV

Significantly enhancing the ignition/compression/damping response of monolithic magnesium by addition of Sm2O3 nanoparticles

10.3390/met7090357Metals7935

Online Corrosion and Force Monitoring for Inner Containment Concrete Structures

Corrosion of steel in concrete reduces the service life and durability of concrete structures. It is a worldwide problem, which causes heavy losses to the economy of the country. The durability of concrete structures primarily depends on the condition of the embedded steel in concrete, apart from any deterioration that concrete may undergo. In general potential surveys are carried out on concrete structures to know about the condition of steel. Most of these measurements in the field are carried out manually and the data obtained are analyzed. This offline measurements leads to an error in the data collected, time consuming and involvement of huge man power. Online corrosion monitoring eliminates such errors in the measurements and improves the accuracy of the data collected from humanly inaccessible regions of a structure. To mitigate corrosion prior to significant degradation and optimize the performance of such concrete structures, various sensors have been used to detect the corrosion and to provide early warning. To assess the condition of the embedded steel, the sensors of the probe are connected to a computer through specialized data acquisition hardware. The computer controls the data acquisition using suitable user friendly software that calculates the corrosion rate at prescribed intervals for continuous monitoring. New types of corrosion sensors and its mechanism in real time measurements are described. Online analysis of data for corrosion and force monitoring is described in this paper

Trends, associations, and antimicrobial resistance of salmonella typhi and paratyphi in Pakistan

Typhoid remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in endemic countries. This review analyzed typhoid burden changes in Pakistan and its association with contextual factors. A retrospective cohort study on blood culture-positive typhoid and antibiotic resistance was conducted from three tertiary hospitals and contextual factor data obtained from primary household surveys. Salmonella Typhi/Paratyphi positivity rates were estimated and trend analysis was carried out using positive cases out of total number of blood cultures performed. Contextual factors\u27 associations were determined through bivariate correlation analysis, using STATA (SataCorp, College Station, TX). We report a total of 17,387 S. Typhi-positive and 8,286 S. Paratyphi A and B-positive specimens from 798,137 blood cultures performed. The results suggest an overall decline in typhoid incidence as S. Typhi positivity rates declined from 6.42% in 1992 to 1.32% in 2015 and S. Paratyphi (A and B) from 1.29% to 0.39%. Subgroup analysis suggests higher S. Typhi prevalence in adults older than 18 years, whereas S. Paratyphi is greater in children aged 5-18 years. The relative contribution of S. Paratyphi to overall confirmed cases increased from 16.8% in 1992 to 23% in 2015. The analysis suggests high burden of fluoroquinolone resistance and multidrug-resistant S. Typhi strains. Statistically significant associations of water, sanitation indicators, and literacy rates were observed with typhoid positivity. Despite some progress, typhoid remains endemic and a strong political will is required for targeted typhoid control strategies. A multipronged approach of improving water, sanitation and hygiene in combination with large-scale immunization in endemic settings of Pakistan could help reduce burden and prevent epidemics

Analysis of inhibition of concrete steel-rebar corrosion by Na2Cr2O7 concentrations: Implications for conflicting reports on inhibitor effectiveness

Corrosion test data were measured using non-destructive electrochemical techniques and analysed for studying inhibition effectiveness by different concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 on the corrosion of concrete steel-rebar in NaCl and in H2SO4 media. For these, specifications of ASTM G16-95 R04 were combined with the normal and the Gumbel probability density functions as model analytical methods for addressing issues of conflicting reports of inhibitor effectiveness that had generated concerns. Results show that reinforced concrete samples admixed with concentrations having 4 g (0.012 7 mol), 8 g (0.025 4 mol) and 6 g (0.019 1 mol) Na2Cr2O7 exhibited, in that order, high inhibition effectiveness, with respective efficiency, η, of (90.46±1.30)%, (88.41±2.24)% and (84.87±4.74)%, in the NaCl medium. These exhibit good agreements within replicates and statistical methods for the samples. Also, optimal inhibition effectiveness model in the H 2SO4 medium was exhibited by 8 g (0.025 4 mol) Na 2Cr2O7 concentration having η=(78.44±1.10)%. These bear implications for addressing conflicting test data in the study of effective inhibitors for mitigating steel-rebar corrosion in aggressive environments. © 2013 Central South University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg