2,544 research outputs found
Time to first consultation, diagnosis and treatment of TB among patients attending a referral hospital in Northwest, Ethiopia
Background Early detection and treatment of TB is essential for the success of TB control program performance. The aim of this study was to determine the length and analyze predictors of patientsâ, health systemsâ and total delays among patients attending a referral hospital in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among newly diagnosed TB cases?=?15 years of age. Delay was analyzed at three levels: the periods between 1) onset of TB symptoms and first visit to medical provider, i.e. patientsâ delay, 2) the first visit to a medical provider and the initiation of treatment i.e. health systemsâ delay and 3) onset of TB symptoms and initiation of treatment i.e. total delay. Uni- and multi-variate logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate predictors of patientsâ, health systemsâ and total delays. Results The median time of patientsâ delay was 21 days [(interquartile range (IQR) (7 days, 60 days)]. The median health systemsâ delay was 27 days (IQR 8 days, 60 days) and the median total delay was 60 days (IQR 30 days, 121 days). Patients residing in rural areas had a three-fold increase in patientsâ delay compared to those from urban areas [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 3.4; 95% (CI 1.3, 8.9)]. Extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB) cases were more likely to experience delay in seeking treatment compared to pulmonary (PTB) cases [(AOR 2.6; 95% (CI 1.3, 5.4)]. Study subjects who first visited health centres [(AOR) 5.1; 95% (CI 2.1, 12.5)], private facilities [(AOR) 3.5; 95% (CI 1.3, 9.7] and health posts [(AOR) 109; 95% (CI 12, 958], were more likely to experience an increase in health systemsâ delay compared to those who visited hospitals. Conclusions The majority of TB patients reported to medical providers within an acceptable time after the onset of symptoms. Rural residence was associated with patientsâ and total delays. Providing the population with information about TB symptoms and the importance of early health seeking may be an efficient way to decrease TB transmission, morbidity and mortality. Establishing efficient TB diagnostic and treatment facilities at the periphery level is imperative to reduce diagnostic delay and expedite TB treatment
Overcharging: The Crucial Role of Excluded Volume
In this Letter we investigate the mechanism for overcharging of a single
spherical colloid in the presence of aqueous salts within the framework of the
primitive model by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as
integral-equation theory. We find that the occurrence and strength of
overcharging strongly depends on the salt-ion size, and the available volume in
the fluid. To understand the role of the excluded volume of the microions, we
first consider an uncharged system. For a fixed bulk concentration we find that
upon increasing the fluid particle size one strongly increases the local
concentration nearby the colloidal surface and that the particles become
laterally ordered. For a charged system the first surface layer is built up
predominantly by strongly correlated counterions. We argue that this a key
mechanism to produce overcharging with a low electrostatic coupling, and as a
more practical consequence, to account for charge inversion with monovalent
aqueous salt ions.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figs (4 EPS files). To appear in Europhysics Letter
Incorporation of excluded volume correlations into Poisson-Boltzmann theory
We investigate the effect of excluded volume interactions on the electrolyte
distribution around a charged macroion. First, we introduce a criterion for
determining when hard-core effects should be taken into account beyond standard
mean field Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory. Next, we demonstrate that several
commonly proposed local density functional approaches for excluded volume
interactions cannot be used for this purpose. Instead, we employ a non-local
excess free energy by using a simple constant weight approach. We compare the
ion distribution and osmotic pressure predicted by this theory with Monte Carlo
simulations. They agree very well for weakly developed correlations and give
the correct layering effect for stronger ones. In all investigated cases our
simple weighted density theory yields more realistic results than the standard
PB approach, whereas all local density theories do not improve on the PB
density profiles but on the contrary, deviate even more from the simulation
results.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Natural iron enrichment around the Antarctic Peninsula in the Southern Ocean
As part of the US-AMLR program in January-February of 2006, 99 stations in
the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region were sampled to
understand the variability in hydrographic and biological properties related
to the abundance and distribution of krill in this area. Concentrations of
dissolved iron (DFe) and total acid-leachable iron (TaLFe) were measured in
the upper 150 m at 16 of these stations (both coastal and pelagic waters) to
better resolve the factors limiting primary production in this area and in
downstream waters of the Scotia Sea. The concentrations of DFe and TaLFe in
the upper mixed layer (UML) were relatively high in Weddell Sea Shelf Waters
(~0.6 nM and 15 nM, respectively) and low in Drake Passage waters
(~0.2 nM and 0.9 nM, respectively). In the Bransfield
Strait, representing a mixture of waters from the Weddell Sea and the
Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), concentrations of DFe were ~0.4 nM
and of TaLFe ~1.7 nM. The highest concentrations of DFe and TaLFe
in the UML were found at shallow coastal stations close to Livingston Island
(~1.6 nM and 100 nM, respectively). The ratio of TaLFe:DFe varied
with the distance to land: ~45 at the shallow coastal stations, ~15
in the high-salinity waters of Bransfield Strait, and ~4 in ACC
waters. Concentrations of DFe increased slightly with depth in the water
column, while that of TaLFe did not show any consistent trend with depth.
Our Fe data are discussed in regard to the hydrography and water circulation
patterns in the study area, and with the hypothesis that the relatively high
rates of primary production in the central regions of the Scotia Sea are
partially sustained by natural iron enrichment resulting
from a northeasterly flow of iron-rich coastal waters originating in
the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region
H-1-MRS Measured Ectopic Fat in Liver and Muscle in Danish Lean and Obese Children and Adolescents
This cross sectional study aims to investigate the associations between ectopic lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle and biochemical measures, estimates of insulin resistance, anthropometry, and blood pressure in lean and overweight/obese children.Fasting plasma glucose, serum lipids, serum insulin, and expressions of insulin resistance, anthropometry, blood pressure, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of liver and muscle fat were obtained in 327 Danish children and adolescents aged 8-18 years.In 287 overweight/obese children, the prevalences of hepatic and muscular steatosis were 31% and 68%, respectively, whereas the prevalences in 40 lean children were 3% and 10%, respectively. A multiple regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index z-score (BMI SDS), and pubertal development showed that the OR of exhibiting dyslipidemia was 4.2 (95%CI: [1.8; 10.2], p = 0.0009) when hepatic steatosis was present. Comparing the simultaneous presence of hepatic and muscular steatosis with no presence of steatosis, the OR of exhibiting dyslipidemia was 5.8 (95%CI: [2.0; 18.6], p = 0.002). No significant associations between muscle fat and dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glucose, or blood pressure were observed. Liver and muscle fat, adjusted for age, sex, BMI SDS, and pubertal development, associated to BMI SDS and glycosylated hemoglobin, while only liver fat associated to visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and intramyocellular lipid associated inversely to high density lipoprotein cholesterol.Hepatic steatosis is associated with dyslipidemia and liver and muscle fat depositions are linked to obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions, especially glycosylated hemoglobin, in children and adolescents, which suggest an increased cardiovascular disease risk
(1)H-MRS measured ectopic fat in liver and muscle is associated with the metabolic syndrome in Danish girls but not in boys with overweight and obesity
BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complication to overweight and obesity, which can be observed already in childhood. Ectopic lipid accumulation in muscle and liver has been shown to associate with the development of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Thus, the interaction between MetS and ectopic fat may offer clinical relevance. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of MetS, or components hereof, and ectopic fat accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle tissue in children, as well as interactions between these. METHODS: Twoâhundredâandâsixteen children and adolescents (95 boys) with overweight/obesity were investigated, as well as 47 controls (22 boys) with normal weight. The assessments included anthropometry, fasting blood biochemistry and blood pressure measurements. Liver and muscle lipid contents were assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RESULTS: We observed an odds ratio in girls with overweight/obesity of 12.2 (95% confidence interval: [3.8; 49.0]) for exhibiting MetS when hepatic steatosis was present, whereas no association was observed in boys with overweight/obesity (odds ratio 0.7 [0.2; 2.7]). The odds ratio of exhibiting MetS in the presence of muscular steatosis was 3.5 [1.4; 9.5] in girls with overweight/obesity and 1.0 [0.2; 5.6] in boys with overweight/obesity. Similar results were seen for girls with overweight/obesity exhibiting concurrent hepatic and muscular steatoses. CONCLUSION: Hepatic and muscular steatoses were associated with MetS among girls, but not among boys with overweight/obesity
Geometric Integration of Hamiltonian Systems Perturbed by Rayleigh Damping
Explicit and semi-explicit geometric integration schemes for dissipative
perturbations of Hamiltonian systems are analyzed. The dissipation is
characterized by a small parameter , and the schemes under study
preserve the symplectic structure in the case . In the case
the energy dissipation rate is shown to be asymptotically
correct by backward error analysis. Theoretical results on monotone decrease of
the modified Hamiltonian function for small enough step sizes are given.
Further, an analysis proving near conservation of relative equilibria for small
enough step sizes is conducted.
Numerical examples, verifying the analyses, are given for a planar pendulum
and an elastic 3--D pendulum. The results are superior in comparison with a
conventional explicit Runge-Kutta method of the same order
Deciphering the recent phylogenetic expansion of the originally deeply rooted Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 7
Dose-response of myofibrillar protein synthesis to ingested whey protein during energy restriction in overweight postmenopausal women: a randomized, controlled trial
BackgroundDiet-induced weight loss is associated with a decline in lean body mass, as mediated by an impaired response of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). The dose-response of MPS to ingested protein, with or without resistance exercise, is well characterized during energy balance but limited data exist under conditions of energy restriction in clinical populations.ObjectiveTo determine the dose-response of MPS to ingested whey protein following short-term diet-induced energy restriction in overweight, postmenopausal, women at rest and postexercise.DesignForty middle-aged (58.6±0.4 y), overweight (BMI: 28.6±0.4), postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: Three groups underwent 5 d of energy restriction (âŒ800 kcal/d). On day 6, participants performed a unilateral leg resistance exercise bout before ingesting either a bolus of 15g (ERW15, n = 10), 35g (ERW35, n = 10) or 60g (ERW60, n = 10) of whey protein. The fourth group (n = 10) ingested a 35g whey protein bolus after 5 d of an energy balanced diet (EBW35, n = 10). Myofibrillar fractional synthetic rate (FSR) was calculated under basal, fed (FED) and postexercise (FED-EX) conditions by combining an L-[ring-13C6] phenylalanine tracer infusion with the collection of bilateral muscle biopsies.ResultsMyofibrillar FSR was greater in ERW35 (0.043±0.003%/h, P = 0.013) and ERW60 (0.042±0.003%/h, P = 0.026) than ERW15 (0.032 ± 0.003%/h), with no differences between ERW35 and ERW60 (P = 1.000). Myofibrillar FSR was greater in FED (0.044 ± 0.003%/h, P < 0.001) and FED-EX (0.048 ± 0.003%/h, P < 0.001) than BASAL (0.027 ± 0.003%/h), but no differences were detected between FED and FED-EX (P = 0.732) conditions. No differences in myofibrillar FSR were observed between EBW35 (0.042 ± 0.003%/h) and ERW35 (0.043 ± 0.003%/h, P = 0.744).ConclusionA 35 g dose of whey protein, ingested with or without resistance exercise, is sufficient to stimulate a maximal acute response of MPS following short-term energy restriction in overweight, postmenopausal women, and thus may provide a per serving protein recommendation to mitigate muscle loss during a weight loss program.Trial registryclinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT03326284)
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