4,335 research outputs found

    Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya

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    Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse

    Chromosomal-level assembly of the Asian Seabass genome using long sequence reads and multi-layered scaffolding

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    We report here the ~670 Mb genome assembly of the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer), a tropical marine teleost. We used long-read sequencing augmented by transcriptomics, optical and genetic mapping along with shared synteny from closely related fish species to derive a chromosome-level assembly with a contig N50 size over 1 Mb and scaffold N50 size over 25 Mb that span ~90% of the genome. The population structure of L. calcarifer species complex was analyzed by re-sequencing 61 individuals representing various regions across the species' native range. SNP analyses identified high levels of genetic diversity and confirmed earlier indications of a population stratification comprising three clades with signs of admixture apparent in the South-East Asian population. The quality of the Asian seabass genome assembly far exceeds that of any other fish species, and will serve as a new standard for fish genomics

    The impact of pesticide suicide on the geographic distribution of suicide in Taiwan: a spatial analysis

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pesticide self-poisoning is the most commonly used suicide method worldwide, but few studies have investigated the national epidemiology of pesticide suicide in countries where it is a major public health problem. This study aims to investigate geographic variations in pesticide suicide and their impact on the spatial distribution of suicide in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Smoothed standardized mortality ratios for pesticide suicide (2002-2009) were mapped across Taiwan's 358 districts (median population aged 15 or above = 27 000), and their associations with the size of agricultural workforce were investigated using Bayesian hierarchical models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 2002-2009 pesticide poisoning was the third most common suicide method in Taiwan, accounting for 13.6% (4913/36 110) of all suicides. Rates were higher in agricultural East and Central Taiwan and lower in major cities. Almost half (47%) of all pesticide suicides occurred in areas where only 13% of Taiwan's population lived. The geographic distribution of overall suicides was more similar to that of pesticide suicides than non-pesticide suicides. Rural-urban differences in suicide were mostly due to pesticide suicide. Areas where a higher proportion of people worked in agriculture showed higher pesticide suicide rates (adjusted rate ratio [ARR] per standard deviation increase in the proportion of agricultural workers = 1.58, 95% Credible Interval [CrI] 1.44-1.74) and overall suicide rates (ARR = 1.06, 95% CrI 1.03-1.10) but lower non-pesticide suicide rates (ARR = 0.91, 95% CrI 0.87-0.95).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Easy access to pesticides appears to influence the geographic distribution of suicide in Taiwan, highlighting the potential benefits of targeted prevention strategies such as restricting access to highly toxic pesticides.</p

    The association between mental health nursing and hospital admissions for people with serious mental illness: a protocol for a systematic review

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    Background: Relapse in individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) is a frequent occurrence and can add considerably to the burden of disease. As such, relapse prevention is an essential therapeutic outcome for people with SMI. Mental health nurses (MHNs) are well placed to support individuals with SMI and to prevent relapse; notwithstanding, there has been no synthesis of the evidence to date to determine whether MHNs prevent relapse in this population. Methods: Electronic databases will be systemically searched for observational studies and clinical trials that report the association between mental health nursing and the hospitalisation of persons living with an SMI. The search will be supplemented by reference checking and a search of the grey literature. The primary outcome of interest will be hospital admission rate. Screening of articles, data extraction and critical appraisal will be undertaken by two reviewers, independently, with a third reviewer consulted should disagreement occur between reviewers. The quality of studies will be assessed using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool and the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. Depending on the number of studies and level of heterogeneity, the evidence may be synthesised using meta-analysis or narrative synthesis. Discussion: This review will explore for the first time the clinical potential of mental health nursing in preventing relapse in persons with SMI. The findings of this review will serve to inform future research and education in this area. The evidence may also help inform future policy, including decisions regarding future mental health workforce development and planning

    Structure of hadron resonances with a nearby zero of the amplitude

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    We discuss the relation between the analytic structure of the scattering amplitude and the origin of an eigenstate represented by a pole of the amplitude.If the eigenstate is not dynamically generated by the interaction in the channel of interest, the residue of the pole vanishes in the zero coupling limit. Based on the topological nature of the phase of the scattering amplitude, we show that the pole must encounter with the Castillejo-Dalitz-Dyson (CDD) zero in this limit. It is concluded that the dynamical component of the eigenstate is small if a CDD zero exists near the eigenstate pole. We show that the line shape of the resonance is distorted from the Breit-Wigner form as an observable consequence of the nearby CDD zero. Finally, studying the positions of poles and CDD zeros of the KbarN-piSigma amplitude, we discuss the origin of the eigenstates in the Lambda(1405) region.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, v2: published versio

    Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

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    We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

    Enhancing Specific Disruption of Intracellular Protein Complexes by Hydrocarbon Stapled Peptides Using Lipid Based Delivery

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    Linear peptides can mimic and disrupt protein-protein interactions involved in critical cell signaling pathways. Such peptides however are usually protease sensitive and unable to engage with intracellular targets due to lack of membrane permeability. Peptide stapling has been proposed to circumvent these limitations but recent data has suggested that this method does not universally solve the problem of cell entry and can lead to molecules with off target cell lytic properties. To address these issues a library of stapled peptides was synthesized and screened to identify compounds that bound Mdm2 and activated cellular p53. A lead peptide was identified that activated intracellular p53 with negligible nonspecific cytotoxicity, however it still bound serum avidly and only showed a marginal improvement in cellular potency. These hurdles were overcome by successfully identifying a pyridinium-based cationic lipid formulation, which significantly improved the activity of the stapled peptide in a p53 reporter cell line, principally through increased vesicular escape. These studies under score that stapled peptides, which are cell permeable and target specific, can be identified with rigorous experimental design and that these properties can be improved through use with lipid based formulations. This work should facilitate the clinical translation of stapled peptides

    Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV
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