1,827 research outputs found
The Impact of Helminth Infection on the Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Background: There are a growing number of publications that report an absence of inflammatory based disease among populations that are endemic to parasitic worms (helminths) demonstrating the ability of these parasites to potentially regulate human immune responses. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the impact of helminth infection on metabolic outcomes in human populations. Methods: Using PRISMA guidelines, six databases were searched for studies published up to August 2020. Random effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate pooled proportions with 95% confidence intervals using the Review Manager Software version 5.4.1. Results: Fourteen studies were included in the review. Fasting blood glucose was significantly lower in persons with infection (MD -0.22, 95% CI -0.40- -0.04, P=0.02), HbA1c levels were lower, although not significantly, and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (P=0.001) and type 2 diabetes was lower (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.34-3.09, P<0.0001). Infection was negatively associated with type 2 diabetes when comparing person with diabetes to the group without diabetes (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.29-0.67, P=0.0001). Conclusions: While infection with helminths was generally associated with improved metabolic function, there were notable differences in efficacy between parasite species. Based on the data assessed, live infection with S. mansoni resulted in the most significant positive changes to metabolic outcomes. Systematic Review Registration: Website: PROSPERO Identified: CRD42021227619
A timely computer-aided detection system for acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke on CT in an emergency environment
Standalone Presentations: no. LL-IN1105BACKGROUND: When a patient is accepted in the emergency room suspected of stroke, time is of the most importance. The infarct brain area suffers irreparable damage as soon as three hours after the onset of stroke symptoms. Non-contrast CT scan is the standard first line of investigation used to identify hemorrhagic stroke cases. However, CT brain images do not show hyperacute ischemia and small hemorrhage clearly and thus may be missed by emergency physicians. We reported a timely computer-aided detection (CAD) system for small hemorrhages on CT that has been successfully developed as an aid to ER physicians to help improve detection for Acute Intracranial Hemorrhage (AIH). This CAD system has been enhanced for diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke in addition to hemorrhagic stroke, which becomes a more complete and clinically useful tool for assisting emergency physicians and radiologists. In the detection algorithm, brain matter is first segmented, realigned, and left-right brain symmetry is evaluated. As in the AIH system, the system confirms hemorrhagic stroke by detecting blood presence with anatomical and medical knowledge-based criteria. For detecting ischemia, signs such as regional hypodensity, blurring of grey and white matter differentiation, effacement of cerebral sulci, and hyperdensity in middle cerebral artery, are evaluated …published_or_final_versio
Deconstructing Weight Management Interventions for Young Adults: Looking Inside the Black Box of the EARLY Consortium Trials.
ObjectiveThe goal of the present study was to deconstruct the 17 treatment arms used in the Early Adult Reduction of weight through LifestYle (EARLY) weight management trials.MethodsIntervention materials were coded to reflect behavioral domains and behavior change techniques (BCTs) within those domains planned for each treatment arm. The analytical hierarchy process was employed to determine an emphasis profile of domains in each intervention.ResultsThe intervention arms used BCTs from all of the 16 domains, with an average of 29.3 BCTs per intervention arm. All 12 of the interventions included BCTs from the six domains of Goals and Planning, Feedback and Monitoring, Social Support, Shaping Knowledge, Natural Consequences, and Comparison of Outcomes; 11 of the 12 interventions shared 15 BCTs in common across those six domains.ConclusionsWeight management interventions are complex. The shared set of BCTs used in the EARLY trials may represent a core intervention that could be studied to determine the required emphases of BCTs and whether additional BCTs add to or detract from efficacy. Deconstructing interventions will aid in reproducibility and understanding of active ingredients
A low density of 0.8 g/cc for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus
The Trojan population consists of two swarms of asteroids following the same
orbit as Jupiter and located at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points of the
Jupiter-Sun system (leading and following Jupiter by 60 degrees). The asteroid
617 Patroclus is the only known binary Trojan (Merline et al. 2001). The orbit
of this double system was hitherto unknown. Here we report that the components,
separated by 680 km, move around the system centre of mass, describing roughly
a circular orbit. Using the orbital parameters, combined with thermal
measurements to estimate the size of the components, we derive a very low
density of 0.8 g/cc. The components of Patroclus are therefore very porous or
composed mostly of water ice, suggesting that they could have been formed in
the outer part of the solar system.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
The Impact of Language Barriers on Documentation of Informed Consent at a Hospital with On-Site Interpreter Services
A framework to evaluate the viability of robotic process automation for business process activities
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology for centralized automation
of business processes. RPA automates user interaction with graphical user
interfaces, whereby it promises efficiency gains and a reduction of human
negligence during process execution. To harness these benefits, organizations
face the challenge of classifying process activities as viable automation
candidates for RPA. Therefore, this work aims to support practitioners in
evaluating RPA automation candidates. We design a framework that consists of
thirteen criteria grouped into five perspectives which offer different
evaluation aspects. These criteria leverage a profound understanding of the
process step. We demonstrate and evaluate the framework by applying it to a
real-life data set.Comment: This is an accepted manuscript for the "RPA Forum" at the "Int.
Conference on Business Process Management (BPM 2020)". The final
authenticated version is available online at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58779-6_1
Wheat-barley hybridization – the last forty years
Abstract Several useful alien gene transfers have
been reported from related species into wheat (Triticum
aestivum), but very few publications have dealt
with the development of wheat/barley (Hordeum
vulgare) introgression lines. An overview is given
here of wheat 9 barley hybridization over the last
forty years, including the development of
wheat 9 barley hybrids, and of addition and translocation
lines with various barley cultivars. A short
summary is also given of the wheat 9 barley hybrids
produced with other Hordeum species. The meiotic
pairing behaviour of wheat 9 barley hybrids is presented,
with special regard to the detection of wheat–
barley homoeologous pairing using the molecular
cytogenetic technique GISH. The effect of in vitro
multiplication on the genome composition of intergeneric
hybrids is discussed, and the production and
characterization of the latest wheat/barley translocation
lines are presented. An overview of the agronomical
traits (b-glucan content, earliness, salt tolerance,
sprouting resistance, etc.) of the newly developed
introgression lines is given. The exploitation and
possible use of wheat/barley introgression lines for
the most up-to-date molecular genetic studies
(transcriptome analysis, sequencing of flow-sorted
chromosomes) are also discussed
Specific Class I HLA Supertypes but Not HLA Zygosity or Expression Are Associated with Outcomes following HLA-Matched Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant: HLA Supertypes Impact Allogeneic HCT Outcomes
Maximizing the probability of antigen presentation to T cells through diversity in HLAs can enhance immune responsiveness and translate into improved clinical outcomes, as evidenced by the association of heterozygosity and supertypes at HLA class I loci with improved survival in patients with advanced solid tumors treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. We investigated the impact of HLA heterozygosity, supertypes, and surface expression on outcomes in adult and pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma who underwent 8/8 HLA-matched, T cell replete, unrelated, allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) from 2000 to 2015 using patient data reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. HLA class I heterozygosity and HLA expression were not associated with overall survival, relapse, transplant-related mortality (TRM), disease-free survival (DFS), and acute graft-versus-host disease following HCT. The HLA-B62 supertype was associated with decreased TRM in the entire patient cohort (hazard ratio [HR], 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.90; P = .00053). The HLA-B27 supertype was associated with worse DFS in patients with AML (HR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.32; P = .00005). These findings suggest that the survival benefit of HLA heterozygosity seen in solid tumor patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors does not extend to patients undergoing allogeneic HCT. Certain HLA supertypes, however, are associated with TRM and DFS, suggesting that similarities in peptide presentation between supertype members play a role in these outcomes. Beyond implications for prognosis following HCT, these findings support the further investigation of these HLA supertypes and the specific immune peptides important for transplant outcomes
A new multicompartmental reaction-diffusion modeling method links transient membrane attachment of E. coli MinE to E-ring formation
Many important cellular processes are regulated by reaction-diffusion (RD) of molecules that takes place both in the cytoplasm and on the membrane. To model and analyze such multicompartmental processes, we developed a lattice-based Monte Carlo method, Spatiocyte that supports RD in volume and surface compartments at single molecule resolution. Stochasticity in RD and the excluded volume effect brought by intracellular molecular crowding, both of which can significantly affect RD and thus, cellular processes, are also supported. We verified the method by comparing simulation results of diffusion, irreversible and reversible reactions with the predicted analytical and best available numerical solutions. Moreover, to directly compare the localization patterns of molecules in fluorescence microscopy images with simulation, we devised a visualization method that mimics the microphotography process by showing the trajectory of simulated molecules averaged according to the camera exposure time. In the rod-shaped bacterium _Escherichia coli_, the division site is suppressed at the cell poles by periodic pole-to-pole oscillations of the Min proteins (MinC, MinD and MinE) arising from carefully orchestrated RD in both cytoplasm and membrane compartments. Using Spatiocyte we could model and reproduce the _in vivo_ MinDE localization dynamics by accounting for the established properties of MinE. Our results suggest that the MinE ring, which is essential in preventing polar septation, is largely composed of MinE that is transiently attached to the membrane independently after recruited by MinD. Overall, Spatiocyte allows simulation and visualization of complex spatial and reaction-diffusion mediated cellular processes in volumes and surfaces. As we showed, it can potentially provide mechanistic insights otherwise difficult to obtain experimentally
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