437 research outputs found
Analysis of residual content of used syringes collected from low threshold facilities in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For the first time in Switzerland, an analysis of residual contents from used syringes collected from low threshold facilities was performed. This preliminary study is part of a wider project aiming to understand patterns of injecting drug use over time.
Among the 100,000 syringes exchanged annually by the ABS foundation (Accueil Bas Seuil), 113 were collected following a purposive sampling method and analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Four syringes (4% of the sample population) contained no substances take into consideration the limit of the method. Cocaine was the most commonly observed compound and was detected in 77 syringes (68%), whilst users reported syringes with cocaine among those analysed in this study. Heroin was detected in 49 syringes (43%) and reported by 53 users returning syringes; midazolam was detected in 31 syringes (27%) and reported as the medicine Dormicum(Âź) in 22 occurrences. No new or unusual illicit drug was detected in the sample.
The results show the presence of cocaine in more than half of the sample, an absence of new or unusual illicit drugs, as well as very few traces of methadone, which suggests that this substitution drug is rarely injected. This preliminary study also demonstrates the potential of this developed methodology for monitoring purposes. An ongoing and more systematic approach could allow to detect modifications in drug use patterns among the target population as well as the appearance of new and hazardous substances. Such systematic and timely results could allow an adaptation of harm reduction interventions
Evaluation de la stratĂ©gie dâĂ©limination de la rougeole 2011-2015
La stratĂ©gie dâĂ©limination de la rougeole 2011-2015 Ă©laborĂ©e et mise en oeuvre par lâOFSP a Ă©tĂ© Ă©valuĂ©e en utilisant diverses approches mĂ©thodologiques complĂ©mentaires. Les principaux rĂ©sultats montrent quâun large consensus sur la stratĂ©gie a Ă©tĂ© obtenu sous lâimpulsion de lâOFSP et que tous les cantons ont mis en oeuvre des mesures visant Ă augmenter la couverture vaccinale. Une augmentation de la couverture vaccinale, du rattrapage vaccinal et une rĂ©duction des disparitĂ©s cantonales de couverture vaccinale ont Ă©tĂ© observĂ©es. Cependant lâobjectif stratĂ©gique de couverture vaccinale 2 doses Ă lâĂąge de 2 ans nâa pas Ă©tĂ© obtenu dans tous les cantons pour lesquels on dispose dâune mesure en 2014-2015. Il est probable que la stratĂ©gie nâa pas encore dĂ©ployĂ© tous ses effets. Les mesures mises en oeuvre pour prĂ©venir et contenir les flambĂ©es Ă©pidĂ©miques et qui visent Ă augmenter la couverture vaccinale devraient ĂȘtre poursuivies
Is a wearable sensor-based characterisation of gait robust enough to overcome differences between measurement protocols? A multi-centric pragmatic study in patients with multiple sclerosis
Inertial measurement units (IMUs) allow accurate quantification of gait impairment of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Nonetheless, it is not clear how IMU-based metrics might be influenced by pragmatic aspects associated with clinical translation of this approach, such as data collection settings and gait protocols. In this study, we hypothesised that these aspects do not significantly alter those characteristics of gait that are more related to quality and energetic efficiency and are quantifiable via acceleration related metrics, such as intensity, smoothness, stability, symmetry, and regularity. To test this hypothesis, we compared 33 IMU-based metrics extracted from data, retrospectively collected by two independent centres on two matched cohorts of pwMS. As a worst-case scenario, a walking test was performed in the two centres at a different speed along corridors of different lengths, using different IMU systems, which were also positioned differently. The results showed that the majority of the temporal metrics (9 out of 12) exhibited significant between-centre differences. Conversely, the between-centre differences in the gait quality metrics were small and comparable to those associated with a test-retest analysis under equivalent conditions. Therefore, the gait quality metrics are promising candidates for reliable multi-centric studies aiming at assessing rehabilitation interventions within a routine clinical context
Highly Sensitive Magnetic Array-based Platform for Neuronal Signal Recording
This work presents a platform for the detection of the neuronal magnetic signal arising from the propagation of the action potential along the axon, via an array of highly sensitive magnetoresistive sensors and a low noise front-end electronic setup. We report the results of calculations and experiments for estimating the limit of detection of such platform in terms of minimum detectable magnetic field. Furthermore, an experimental setup for recording the magnetic signal in a brain slice is presented. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd
Smoking, female gender and PI use are associated with decreasing renal function in TDF-containing HAART
Correlates of risk of adipose tissue alterations and their modifications over time in HIV-1-infected women treated with antiretroviral therapy.
La carta della vegetazione del SIC Alta Valle del Sestaione (Pistoia, Toscana Nord-Occidentale)
Mantle Xenoliths from Huanul Volcano (Central-West Argentina): A Poorly Depleted Mantle Source under Southern Payenia
Huanul is a shield volcano with several lava flows hosting mantle xenoliths erupted during the Pleistocene (0.84 ± 0.05 Ma). It is located in the southern part of the Payenia Volcanic Province, which is among the largest Neogene-Quaternary volcanic provinces of South America. The vol-canism here has been ascribed as the northernmost expression of the back-arc volcanism of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone. We present the first petrographic and mineral chemistry study of mantle xenoliths collected from Huanul lavas with the aim of reconstructing directly the mantle source of the Payenia Volcanic Province. Xenoliths are commonly small (<5 cm in radius) but scarcely crossed by basaltic veins. All xenoliths have a fertile lherzolitic modal composition and are equilibrated in the spinel-facies. Most of them exhibit an almost primitive-mantle geochemical affinity, characterized by slightly depleted clinopyroxene REE patterns reproducible by partial melting degrees between 0 and 4% of a PM source. Geothermobarometric P-T estimates of cli-nopyroxene-orthopyroxene couples form a linear trend between 10 and 24 kbar with constant increase of T from 814 to 1170 °C along a 50â60 mW/m2 geotherm. Evidences of interaction with the host basalts occur as spongy textures in clinopyroxene and reacted spinel, which tend to became more restitic in composition and show chromatographic or complete overprinting of the trace element compositions. The presence of plagioclase and calculated P-T values constrain this melt/rock reaction process between 6 and 14 kbar, during magma ascent, and fit the mantle ad-iabat model. Calculated melts in equilibrium with the primary clinopyroxenes do not fit the composition of the host basalt and, together with the geothermobarometric estimations, point to an asthenospheric mantle source for the magmatism in southern Payenia. The PM geochemical affinity of the xenoliths of Huanul is an extremely rare finding in the South America lithospheric mantle, which is commonly extensively refertilized by subduction-derived melts
When food can make the difference : The case of elvitegravir-based co-formulation
Stribild should be administered under fed conditions to optimize drugs exposure. Here we assessed to what extent this advice is applied in the real life scenario by therapeutic drug monitoring in 75 HIV-infected patients given Stribild-based antiretroviral therapy. Fifty-three percent of our patients took Stribild at lunch/supper time, 23% in the morning with breakfast, and 24% middle in the morning or late in the evening. Twelve out of the 75 patients had unquantifiable elvitegravir concentrations, whereas in the remaining the levels were largely distributed. Wide inter-individual variability in the tenofovir, cobicistat and darunavir trough concentrations was also observed. In real life settings a significant proportion of patients took Stribild without food, namely in the mid-morning or late in the evening. This resulted in a wide inter-individual variability of antiretroviral drug trough concentrations. To avoid the risk for patients to experience suboptimal drug exposure, it is important that health professionals more convincingly advise their patients to take Stribild in fed conditions. On the other hand, the role of patient education and patient responsibility to correctly take the therapy should not be underestimated
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