Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. DESIGN: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. METHODS: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. RESULTS: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. CONCLUSION: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. Design: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. Methods: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. Results: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. Conclusion: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Importance of patient bed pathways and length of stay differences in predicting COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy in England.

Background: Predicting bed occupancy for hospitalised patients with COVID-19 requires understanding of length of stay (LoS) in particular bed types. LoS can vary depending on the patient’s “bed pathway” - the sequence of transfers of individual patients between bed types during a hospital stay. In this study, we characterise these pathways, and their impact on predicted hospital bed occupancy. Methods: We obtained data from University College Hospital (UCH) and the ISARIC4C COVID-19 Clinical Information Network (CO-CIN) on hospitalised patients with COVID-19 who required care in general ward or critical care (CC) beds to determine possible bed pathways and LoS. We developed a discrete-time model to examine the implications of using either bed pathways or only average LoS by bed type to forecast bed occupancy. We compared model-predicted bed occupancy to publicly available bed occupancy data on COVID-19 in England between March and August 2020. Results: In both the UCH and CO-CIN datasets, 82% of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 only received care in general ward beds. We identified four other bed pathways, present in both datasets: “Ward, CC, Ward”, “Ward, CC”, “CC” and “CC, Ward”. Mean LoS varied by bed type, pathway, and dataset, between 1.78 and 13.53 days. For UCH, we found that using bed pathways improved the accuracy of bed occupancy predictions, while only using an average LoS for each bed type underestimated true bed occupancy. However, using the CO-CIN LoS dataset we were not able to replicate past data on bed occupancy in England, suggesting regional LoS heterogeneities. Conclusions: We identified five bed pathways, with substantial variation in LoS by bed type, pathway, and geography. This might be caused by local differences in patient characteristics, clinical care strategies, or resource availability, and suggests that national LoS averages may not be appropriate for local forecasts of bed occupancy for COVID-19. Trial registration: The ISARIC WHO CCP-UK study ISRCTN66726260 was retrospectively registered on 21/04/2020 and designated an Urgent Public Health Research Study by NIHR.</p

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the Second Phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since 2014 July. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the 14th from SDSS overall (making this Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes the data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (2014–2016 July) public. Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey; the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data-driven machine-learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from the SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS web site (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020 and will be followed by SDSS-V

New fructose biosensors utilizing a polypyrrole film and D-fructose 5-dehydrogenase immobilized by different processes

Two amperometric biosensors for fructose detection were developed by immobilizing D-fructose 5-dehydrogenase by two different immobilization processes. For the first biosensor, the occlusion enzymatic immobilization technique was employed, the enzyme being immobilized in a polypyrrole (PPY) film, over a platinum electrode containing sodium ferricyanide as mediator. With this sensor, about 100 analyses were performed over a period of 1 week with daily use. The second was constructed using the crosslinked covalent bond method, the enzyme being immobilized onto a PPY film doped with hexacyanoferrate supported on a platinum electrode surface. This biosensor was used for, approximately, 200 analyses in 2 weeks of continuous use. Analytical parameters, such as pH, ionic strength, interferences and response time of both sensors were also studied. The biosensors were utilized for fructose determinations in three different samples of dietetic products and presented a good correlation with the standard colorimetric method. A linear response range to both biosensors was 0.1-0.8 mmol l(-1) fructose with a r.s.d. of 0.68%. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.3744170020120

A new amperometric biosensor for fructose using a carbon paste electrode modified with silica gel coated with Meldola's Blue and fructose 5-dehydrogenase

A carbon paste modified with silica gel coated with Meldola's Blue and fructose 5-dehydrogenase was used to construct a new biosensor for fructose. An efficient electron transfer mediation from the reduced enzyme to the carbon paste electrode was verified, at a low applied potential of 20mV vs. SCE, where interfering reactions are minimized. A linear response range for 0.1 to 0.8 mmol(-1) fructose was adjusted by the equation I=0.0150(+/-0.006)+0.618(+/-0.011) [fructose], with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 and an rsd of 0.68% for n=7. The biosensor was used to determine fructose in sweets and fruit jellies and the results present good recovery, higher than 96% in both cases. A stable response is observed over two months, when stored in a refrigerator, or for 300 measurements in continuous use.4184167114715

Use of self-plasticizing EVA membrane for potentiometric anion detection

In this work, five different types of membranes were developed responsible to anion-selective electrodes. The membranes were based on tri-caprylyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride (Aliquat-336S) supported on poly(ethylene-covinyl-acetate) copolymer (EVA). The sensors were prepared by solubilizing the copolymer with the appropriate exchanger in chloroform, without using of any plasticizers. The ion-selective electrodes prepared using these membranes show the utility for anions determinations in the concentration range between 10(-5) and 10(-1) mol l(-1) in the steady-state. The membrane performance was also evaluated in FIA system using tubular electrode for salicylate and iodide. In FIA system, the electrode exhibited nernstian response for salicylate in the concentration range of 2.5 x 10(-3) and 1.0 x 10(-1), while for iodide from 5.0 x 10(-4) up to 1.0 x 10(-1) mol l(-1). The systems were employed for the salicylate and iodide determination in pharmaceutical samples obtaining a relative deviation of 1.6%,when compared to the reference method. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.53480781