Implantable devices for heart failure monitoring: the CardioMEMS™ system.

Several devices have been developed for heart failure (HF) treatment and monitoring. Among device-based monitoring tools, CardioMEMS™ has received growing research attention. This document reflects the key points of an ESC consensus meeting on implantable devices for monitoring in HF, with a particular focus on CardioMEMS™

Assessment of Heavy Metal Toxicity in Four Species of Freshwater Ciliates (Spirotrichea:Ciliophora) from Delhi, India

The file attached is the Published/publisher’s pdf version of the article

Anti-Allergic Cromones Inhibit Histamine and Eicosanoid Release from Activated Human and Murine Mast Cells by Releasing Annexin A1

PMCID: PMC3601088This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Gamma-Ray Background from Structure Formation in the Intergalactic Medium

The universe is filled with a diffuse and isotropic extragalactic background of gamma-ray radiation, containing roughly equal energy flux per decade in photon energy between 3 MeV-100 GeV. The origin of this background is one of the unsolved puzzles in cosmology. Less than a quarter of the gamma-ray flux can be attributed to unresolved discrete sources, but the remainder appears to constitute a truly diffuse background whose origin has hitherto been mysterious. Here we show that the shock waves induced by gravity during the formation of large-scale structure in the intergalactic medium, produce a population of highly-relativistic electrons with a maximum Lorentz factor above 10^7. These electrons scatter a small fraction of the microwave background photons in the present-day universe up to gamma-ray energies, thereby providing the gamma-ray background. The predicted diffuse flux agrees with the observed background over more than four decades in photon energy, and implies a mean cosmological density of baryons which is consistent with Big-Bang nucleosynthesis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Nature. (Press embargo until published.

Integrating psychological theory into the design of an online intervention for sexual health: the sexunzipped website.

BACKGROUND: The Internet can provide a confidential and convenient medium for sexual health promotion for young people. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the development of an interactive, theory-based website (Sexunzipped) aimed at increasing safe sexual behavior of young people, as well as an outline of the evaluation protocol. METHODS: The website focuses on safer sex, relationships, and sexual pleasure. An overview of the site is provided, including a description of the theoretical constructs which form the basis of the site development. An integrated behavioral model was chosen as the guiding theory for the Sexunzipped intervention. A randomized trial design will be used to evaluate the site quantitatively. RESULTS: The content of the site is described in detail with examples of the main content types: information pages, quizzes, and decision-making activities. We describe the protocol for quantitative evaluation of the website using a randomized trial design and discuss the principal challenges involved in developing the site, including the challenge of balancing the requirements of theory with young people's views on website content and design. CONCLUSIONS: Considerations for future interventions are discussed. Developing an online behavior-change intervention is costly and time consuming. Given the large public health potential, the cost involved in developing online interventions, and the need for attractive design, future interventions may benefit from collaborating with established sites that already have a user base, a brand, and a strong Internet presence. It is vital to involve users in decisions about intervention content, design, and features, paying attention to aspects that will attract and retain users' interest. A central challenge in developing effective Internet-based interventions for young people is to find effective ways to operationalize theory in ways that address the views and perspectives of young people

Inflammation in the male genital tract: implications for HIV acquisition and transmission

Elevated plasma levels of pro-inflammatory mediators such as TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES have been demonstrated in HIV-infected individuals and HIV induces higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the female genital tract. We characterized levels of inflammation in semen, to gain an understanding of factors influencing transmission and acquisition in the male genital tract. Our hypothesis was that infected men would exhibit higher levels of inflammation in semen than uninfected men

Environmental surveillance for Salmonella Typhi as a tool to estimate the incidence of typhoid fever in low-income populations.

Background: The World Health Organisation recommends prioritised use of recently prequalified typhoid conjugate vaccines in countries with the highest incidence of typhoid fever. However, representative typhoid surveillance data are lacking in many low-income countries because of the costs and challenges of diagnostic clinical microbiology. Environmental surveillance (ES) of Salmonella Typhi in sewage and wastewater using molecular methods may offer a low-cost alternative, but its performance in comparison with clinical surveillance has not been assessed. Methods: We developed a harmonised protocol for typhoid ES and its implementation in communities in India and Malawi where it will be compared with findings from hospital-based surveillance for typhoid fever. The protocol includes methods for ES site selection based on geospatial analysis, grab and trap sample collection at sewage and wastewater sites, and laboratory methods for sample processing, concentration and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect Salmonella Typhi. The optimal locations for ES sites based on digital elevation models and mapping of sewage and river networks are described for each community and their suitability confirmed through field investigation. We will compare the prevalence and abundance of Salmonella Typhi in ES samples collected each month over a 12-month period to the incidence of blood culture confirmed typhoid cases recorded at referral hospitals serving the study areas. Conclusions: If environmental detection of Salmonella Typhi correlates with the incidence of typhoid fever estimated through clinical surveillance, typhoid ES may be a powerful and low-cost tool to estimate the local burden of typhoid fever and support the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines. Typhoid ES could also allow the impact of vaccination to be assessed and rapidly identify circulation of drug resistant strains

Frutapin, a lectin from Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit): cloning, expression and molecular insights

Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit) seeds contain three different lectins (Frutalin, Frutapin and Frutackin) with distinct carbohydrate specificities. The most abundant lectin is Frutalin, an α-D-galactose-specific carbohydrate-binding glycoprotein with antitumour properties and potential for tumour biomarker discovery as already reported. Frutapin (FTP) is the second most abundant, but proved difficult to purify with very low yields and contamination with Frutalin frustrating its characterization. Here, we report for the first time high-level production and isolation of biologically-active recombinant FTP in E. coli BL21, optimizing conditions with the best set yielding >40 mg/L culture of soluble active FTP. The minimal concentration for agglutination of red blood cells was 62.5 µg/mL of FTP, a process effectively inhibited by mannose. Apo-FTP, FTP-mannose and FTP-glucose crystals were obtained and diffracted X-rays to a resolution of 1.58 (P212121), 1.70 (P3121) and 1.60 (P3121) Å, respectively. The best solution showed four monomers per asymmetric unit. Molecular Dynamics simulation suggested FTP displays higher affinity for mannose than glucose. Cell studies revealed FTP was non-cytotoxic to cultured mouse fibroblast 3T3 cells below 0.5 mg/mL and also capable of stimulating cell migration at 50 µg/mL. In conclusion, our optimized expression system allowed high amounts of correctly-folded soluble FTP to be isolated. This recombinant bioactive lectin will now be tested in future studies for therapeutic potential; for example, in wound healing and tissue regeneration

A framework for Operational Security Metrics Development for industrial control environment

Security metrics are very crucial towards providing insights when measuring security states and susceptibilities in industrial operational environments. Obtaining practical security metrics depend on effective security metrics development approaches. To be effective, a security metrics development framework should be scope-definitive, objective-oriented, reliable, simple, adaptable, and repeatable (SORSAR). A framework for Operational Security Metrics Development (OSMD) for industry control environments is presented, which combines concepts and characteristics from existing approaches. It also adds the new characteristic of adaptability. The OSMD framework is broken down into three phases of: target definition, objective definition, and metrics synthesis. A case study scenario is used to demonstrate an instance of how to implement and apply the proposed framework to demonstrate its usability and workability. Expert elicitation has also be used to consolidate the validity of the proposed framework. Both validation approaches have helped to show that the proposed framework can help create effective and efficient ICS-centric security metrics taxonomy that can be used to evaluate capabilities or vulnerabilities. The understanding from this can help enhance security assurance within industrial operational environments