Oral immunotherapy be heated ovomuciod-reduced egg white in a Balb/C mouse model

Resumen del trabajo presentado al Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Meeting (FAAM-2011) celebrado en Venecia.Peer Reviewe

Synthesis and properties of a novel highly thermal stable N-propargyl monomer containing benzoxazole ring

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. A novel highly thermal stable propargyl functional compound containing benzoxazole ring, N, N, N′, N′-tetra propargyl-5-amino-2-(p-aminophenyl) benzoxazole (TPAPB), was proposed and synthesized using a phase-transfer catalytic method. The cure behavior of TPAPB was investigated by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The solubility and rheological properties of TPAPB, as well as its broad temperature window from 130°C to 200°C with low viscosity, offered excellent processability for TPAPB to be used as a potential monomer of thermosetting polymer resin. It was found that the glass transition temperature of cured TPAPB was 359°C, and the temperature of 5% weight loss was 418°C in argon with the char residue up to 70% at 700°C. The polymerized resin exhibited high heat resistance and thermal stability, together with its processability, making it good candidate as highly heat-resistant polymer matrix for advanced composite applications

Multi-parametric quantitative microvascular imaging with optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy in vivo

Many diseases involve either the formation of new blood vessels (e.g., tumor angiogenesis) or the damage of existing ones (e.g., diabetic retinopathy) at the microcirculation level. Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM), capable of imaging microvessels in 3D in vivo down to individual capillaries using endogenous contrast, has the potential to reveal microvascular information critical to the diagnosis and staging of microcirculation-related diseases. In this study, we have developed a dedicated microvascular quantification (MQ) algorithm for OR-PAM to automatically quantify multiple microvascular morphological parameters in parallel, including the vessel diameter distribution, the microvessel density, the vascular tortuosity, and the fractal dimension. The algorithm has been tested on in vivo OR-PAM images of a healthy mouse, demonstrating high accuracy for microvascular segmentation and quantification. The developed MQ algorithm for OR-PAM may greatly facilitate quantitative imaging of tumor angiogenesis and many other microcirculation related diseases in vivo

Optimizing anti-collision strategy for MASS: A safe reinforcement learning approach to improve maritime traffic safety

Maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) promise enhanced efficiency, reduced human errors, and to improve maritime traffic safety. However, MASS navigation in complex maritime traffic presents challenges, especially in collision avoidance strategy optimization (CASO). This paper proposes a novel risk-based CASO approach based on safe reinforcement learning (SRL) with a reliability and risk hierarchical critic network (SRL-R2HCN) approach. Key steps in developing the approach start with the formulation of collision risk assessment. This is followed by the construction of a hierarchical network structure, supplemented by the supporting reward function, multi-objective function, and reliability measurement to realize the SRL-R2HCN. Finally, simulation experiments are conducted in mixed obstacle scenarios, and the results are compared with traditional algorithms to showcase the advancement and fidelity of the new SRL-R2HCN method. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately assess collision risks in mixed obstacle scenarios and generate safe, efficient, and reliable collision avoidance strategies. The outcomes of this research provide a sound theoretical basis for the future development of MASS navigation safety and significant potential to improve the safe and efficient operations of MASS. Furthermore, the methodology could also benefit maritime transportation and shipping management

The Role of Mental Health on the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Immunologic Outcome Among People Living With HIV in Guangxi, China

BACKGROUND Previous studies showed that food insecurity could adversely affect clinical outcomes of people living with HIV (PLWH). The mental health pathways of such effects are suggested in existing literature, but empirical data are limited in resource-limited settings. METHODS This cross-sectional study aims to explore the role of depressive symptoms and anxiety on the association between food insecurity and CD4 counts among a sample of 2,987 PLWH in Guangxi, China. Path analysis was used to examine a hypothetical model and delta ztest was used to assess the indirect effects of food insecurity on CD4 counts through depressive symptoms and anxiety. RESULTS The prevalence of food insecurity in this sample was 25.3%, and the median CD4 counts were 318 cells/mm3. In correlation analyses, food insecurity was not directly associated with LogCD4 but was associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety. Path analysis indicated a significant indirect effect from food insecurity to LogCD4 through depressive symptoms, but not anxiety. CONCLUSION Improving mental health among PLWH with food insecurity may be beneficial for treatment outcomes. Besides intervening food insecurity, an intervention targeting depressive symptoms could improve the immunologic outcomes of PLWH

Differential Relationships of Stress and HIV Disclosure by Gender: A Person Centered Longitudinal Study

Background: Existing literature mostly consider HIV disclosure as a static event and investigate its relationship with stress using a cross-sectional design. It is unclear about the dynamic changes of HIV disclosure levels (defined as the number of disclosure targets) and how stress may influence these changes. This study explored different disclosure levels using a person-centered longitudinal approach, examined whether stress could predict these disclosure levels, and investigated if this relationship differed by gender among people living with HIV (PLWH). Methods: Data were derived from a prospective cohort study conducted from November 2016 to January 2018 in Guangxi, China. Four hundred forty-four PLWH were included. Participants were assessed on perceived stress, sociodemographic characteristics, and number of HIV disclosure targets at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month followups. Growth mixture modeling was used to characterize disclosure levels based on the changes of disclosure target number. Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict disclosure levels with baseline stress after adjusting for covariates. The interaction effect of stress by gender was examined. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval were reported to show the strength of association. Results: Three levels of disclosure were characterized as “Low levels of disclosure” (Level One), “Increased levels of disclosure” (Level Two), and “High levels of disclosure” (Level Three). Accordingly, 355 (81.2%), 28 (6.4%), and 64 (12.4%) of PLWH were categorized respectively under low, increased, and high levels of disclosure. The interaction of baseline stress by gender was significant in differentiating Level One from Three (AOR = 0.85 [0.74 ~ 0.99]) while it was not significant between Level One and Two (AOR = 0.96 [0.81 ~ 1.15]). Compared to female, male PLWH with higher baseline stress had lower probability to have consistent high disclosure levels over time. PLWH who were married/cohabited had lower probability of being classified into consistent high levels of disclosure than low level (AOR = 0.43 [0.19 ~ 0.94]). Conclusions: There was gender difference in the relationship between stress and levels of HIV disclosure. To promote HIV disclosure, gender tailored interventions should be employed to help PLWH cope with stress