Infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems: Normalising Reduction Strategies

We study normalising reduction strategies for infinitary Combinatory Reduction Systems (iCRSs). We prove that all fair, outermost-fair, and needed-fair strategies are normalising for orthogonal, fully-extended iCRSs. These facts properly generalise a number of results on normalising strategies in first-order infinitary rewriting and provide the first examples of normalising strategies for infinitary lambda calculus

Incidence and Predictors of Pre-Eclampsia Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, North West Ethiopia: Prospective Cohort Study.

BackgroundPre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-induced hypertension that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation. It is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality globally, but it is higher in developing countries. In Ethiopia, conducting research on the incidence and predictors of pre-eclampsia is crucial due to the paucity of information.MethodsA prospective cohort study was undertaken using 242 pregnant women between November 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019 at Debre Markos Referral Hospital. All eligible women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this study. Data were entered into the epic-data Version 4.2 and analyzed using the STATA Version 14.0 software. The Cox-proportional hazard regression model was fitted and Cox-Snell residual test was used to assess the goodness of fit. Pre-eclampsia free survival time was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Both bivariable and multivariable Cox-proportional hazard regression models were fitted to identify predictors of pre-eclampsia.ResultsThe overall incidence rate of pre-eclampsia was 3.35 per 100 person-years. Having a pre-existing history of diabetes mellitus [AHR=2.7 (95% CI=1.43-8.81)], having a history of multiple pregnancy [AHR=3.4 (95% CI=2.8-6.9)] and being ≥35 years old age [AHR=2.5 (95% CI=1.42-3.54)] were the significant predictors of pre-eclampsia.ConclusionThe incidence of pre-eclampsia was high in this study. Having (pre-existing diabetes and multiple pregnancy) and being ≥35 years old age were the significant predictors of pre-eclampsia. Inspiring pregnant women's health-seeking behavior should provide a chance to diagnose pre-eclampsia early to prevent the medical complication of pre-eclampsia

Mortality rate among HIV-positive children on ART in Northwest Ethiopia: a historical cohort study.

BackgroundThough highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been available for more than a decade in Ethiopia, information regarding mortality rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive children after antiretroviral therapy antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is very scarce. Thus, this study intends to determine the predictors of mortality among HIV-positive children receiving ART in Amhara Region.MethodsA multicenter facility-based historical cohort study was conducted in 538 HIV-positive children on ART from January 2012 to February 2017. We employed a standardized data extraction tool, adapted from ART entry and follow-up forms. Descriptive analyses were summarized using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log rank test. Then, the Cox-proportional hazard regression model was employed to estimate the hazard of death up to five-years after ART initiation. Variables with p-values ≤0.25 in bivariable analysis were candidates to the multivariable analysis. Finally, variables with p-values ResultsThe cohort contributed a total follow-up time of 14,600 child-months, with an overall mortality rate of 3.2 (95% CI: 2.3, 4.3) per 100 child-years. This study also indicated that HIV-infected children presenting with opportunistic infections (OIs) (AHR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.04, 5.9), anemia (AHR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.4, 6.7), severe immunodeficiency (AHR: 4.4, 95% CI: 1.7, 11.7), severe stunting (AHR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.4, 8.0), severe wasting (AHR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3, 7.3), and advanced disease staging (III and IV) (AHR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2, 7.1) were at higher risk of mortality.ConclusionA higher rate of mortality was observed in our study as compared to previous Ethiopian studies. HIV-positive children presenting with anemia, OIs, severe immunodeficiency, advanced disease staging (III and IV), severe stunting, and severe wasting were at higher risk of mortality

Undernutrition among Ethiopian adults living with HIV: a meta-analysis.

BackgroundMalnutrition and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are interlaced in a vicious cycle and worsened in low and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, even though individuals are dually affected by both malnutrition and HIV, there is no a nationwide study showing the proportion of malnutrition among HIV-positive adults. Consequently, this review addressed the pooled burden of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia.MethodsWe searched for potentially relevant studies through manual and electronic searches. An electronic search was carried out using the database of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google for gray literature and reference lists of previous studies. A standardized data extraction checklist was used to extract the data from each original study. STATA Version 13 statistical software was used for our analysis. Descriptive summaries were presented in tables, and the quantitative result was presented in a forest plot. Heterogeneity within the included studies was examined using the Cochrane Q test statistics and I 2 test. Finally, a random-effects meta-analysis model was computed to estimate the pooled proportion of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults.ResultsAfter reviewing 418 studies, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Findings from 15 studies revealed that the pooled percentage of undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia was 26% (95% CI: 22, 30%). The highest percentage of undernutrition (46.8%) was reported from Jimma University specialized hospital, whereas the lowest proportion of undernutrition (12.3%) was reported from Dilla Hospital. The subgroup analyses of this study also indicated that the percentage of undernourishment among HIV-positive adults is slightly higher in the Northern and Central parts of Ethiopia (27.5%) as compared to the Southern parts of Ethiopia (25%).ConclusionThis study noted that undernutrition among HIV-positive adults in Ethiopia was quite common. This study also revealed that undernutrition is more common among HIV-positive adults with advanced disease stage, anemia, diarrhea, CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3, and living in rural areas. Based on our findings, we suggested that all HIV-positive adults should be assessed for nutritional status at the time of ART commencement

Mammalian Sperm Head Formation Involves Different Polarization of Two Novel LINC Complexes

Background: LINC complexes are nuclear envelope bridging protein structures formed by interaction of SUN and KASH proteins. They physically connect the nucleus with the peripheral cytoskeleton and are critically involved in a variety of dynamic processes, such as nuclear anchorage, movement and positioning and meiotic chromosome dynamics. Moreover, they are shown to be essential for maintaining nuclear shape. Findings: Based on detailed expression analysis and biochemical approaches, we show here that during mouse sperm development, a terminal cell differentiation process characterized by profound morphogenic restructuring, two novel distinctive LINC complexes are established. They consist either of spermiogenesis-specific Sun3 and Nesprin1 or Sun1g, a novel non-nuclear Sun1 isoform, and Nesprin3. We could find that these two LINC complexes specifically polarize to opposite spermatid poles likely linking to sperm-specific cytoskeletal structures. Although, as shown in co-transfection/ immunoprecipitation experiments, SUN proteins appear to arbitrarily interact with various KASH partners, our study demonstrates that they actually are able to confine their binding to form distinct LINC complexes. Conclusions: Formation of the mammalian sperm head involves assembly and different polarization of two novel spermiogenesis-specific LINC complexes. Together, our findings suggest that theses LINC complexes connect the differentiating spermatid nucleus to surrounding cytoskeletal structures to enable its well-directed shaping and elongation

Multiple Novel Nesprin-1 and Nesprin-2 Variants Act as Versatile Tissue-Specific Intracellular Scaffolds

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Nesprins (<u>N</u>uclear <u>e</u>nvelope <u>s</u>pectrin-<u>r</u>epeat <u>p</u>roteins) are a novel family of giant spectrin-repeat containing proteins. The nesprin-1 and nesprin-2 genes consist of 146 and 116 exons which encode proteins of ∼1mDa and ∼800 kDa is size respectively when all the exons are utilised in translation. However emerging data suggests that the nesprins have multiple alternative start and termination sites throughout their genes allowing the generation of smaller isoforms.</p> <h3>Results</h3><p>In this study we set out to identify novel alternatively transcribed nesprin variants by screening the EST database and by using RACE analysis to identify cDNA ends. These two methods provided potential hits for alternative start and termination sites that were validated by PCR and DNA sequencing. We show that these alternative sites are not only expressed in a tissue specific manner but by combining different sites together it is possible to create a wide array of nesprin variants. By cloning and expressing small novel nesprin variants into human fibroblasts and U2OS cells we show localization to actin stress-fibres, focal adhesions, microtubules, the nucleolus, nuclear matrix and the nuclear envelope (NE). Furthermore we show that the sub-cellular localization of individual nesprin variants can vary depending on the cell type, suggesting any single nesprin variant may have different functions in different cell types.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>These studies suggest nesprins act as highly versatile tissue specific intracellular protein scaffolds and identify potential novel functions for nesprins beyond cytoplasmic-nuclear coupling. These alternate functions may also account for the diverse range of disease phenotypes observed when these genes are mutated.</p> </div

Bicaudal D2, Dynein, and Kinesin-1 Associate with Nuclear Pore Complexes and Regulate Centrosome and Nuclear Positioning during Mitotic Entry

Mammalian Bicaudal D2 is the missing molecular link between cytoplasmic motor proteins and the nucleus during nuclear positioning prior to the onset of mitosis