134 research outputs found
From Design to Practice: How can large-scale household surveys better represent the complexities of the social units under investigation?
The way in which âthe householdâ is defined and operationalised in surveys and census data collection has long been criticised as unable to adequately capture the complexities of the social units within which people live. In a South African national survey on household wealth (HWS) a definition of the household was used to rep-resent the ways in which South African households arrange themselves financially. Here we report on a qualitative study in which 36 households originally included in the HWS were re-interviewed to collect detailed data on household financial links and dependencies. Households with more complex structures, which represent the majority of household types in South Africa, were very poorly represented, and possible reasons for this are explored. We analyse and discuss the HWS research process in the light of the findings of this study, and propose ways to improve large-scale survey design and data collection, drawing on perspectives from multiple disciplines.
Desperate times call for desperate measures: Adapting antiretroviral service delivery in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa
announced a nation-wide lockdown to help curb the spread of the
COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa (SA). While these containment
measures are considered to have limited the spread of COVID-19 in
SA, the economic and social consequences, including the impact on
healthcare service delivery, are prominent.
Regarding healthcare service delivery, there are concerns about
people who could be at risk of experiencing severe COVID-19
infection, and about meeting the needs of people with chronic
diseases such as people living with HIV (PLHIV). In the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic, PLHIV with an unsuppressed viral load
may be at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19-related
conditions and potentially dying, especially those who are co-infected
with tuberculosis (TB)
Non-perturbative flow equations from continuous unitary transformations
We use a novel parameterization of the flowing Hamiltonian to show that the
flow equations based on continuous unitary transformations, as proposed by
Wegner, can be implemented through a nonlinear partial differential equation
involving one flow parameter and two system specific auxiliary variables. The
implementation is non-perturbative as the partial differential equation
involves a systematic expansion in fluctuations, controlled by the size of the
system, rather than the coupling constant. The method is applied to the Lipkin
model to construct a mapping which maps the non-interacting spectrum onto the
interacting spectrum to a very high accuracy. This function is universal in the
sense that the full spectrum for any (large) number of particles can be
obtained from it. In a similar way expectation values for a large class of
operators can be obtained, which also makes it possible to probe the stucture
of the eigenstates.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figure
Strong-coupling expansion and effective hamiltonians
When looking for analytical approaches to treat frustrated quantum magnets,
it is often very useful to start from a limit where the ground state is highly
degenerate. This chapter discusses several ways of deriving {effective
Hamiltonians} around such limits, starting from standard {degenerate
perturbation theory} and proceeding to modern approaches more appropriate for
the derivation of high-order effective Hamiltonians, such as the perturbative
continuous unitary transformations or contractor renormalization. In the course
of this exposition, a number of examples taken from the recent literature are
discussed, including frustrated ladders and other dimer-based Heisenberg models
in a field, as well as the mapping between frustrated Ising models in a
transverse field and quantum dimer models.Comment: To appear as a chapter in "Highly Frustrated Magnetism", Eds. C.
Lacroix, P. Mendels, F. Mil
Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR
New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and
NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a
quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19
and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x
larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after
reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been
decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state,
together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time
the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV
pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The
overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be
broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating
vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a
different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel
way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary
pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as
is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7
within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure
Modulation of the silica sol-gel composition for the promotion of direct electron transfer to encapsulated cytochrome
The direct electron transfer between indium-tin oxide electrodes (ITO) and cytochrome c encapsulated in different sol-gel silica networks was studied. Cyt c@silica modified electrodes were synthesized by a two-step encapsulation method mixing a phosphate buffer solution with dissolved cytochrome c and a silica sol prepared by the alcohol-free sol-gel route. These modified electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis spectroscopy, and in situ UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry. The electrochemical response of encapsulated protein is influenced by the terminal groups of the silica pores. Cyt c does not present electrochemical response in conventional silica (hydroxyl terminated) or phenyl terminated silica. Direct electron transfer to encapsulated cytochrome c and ITO electrodes only takes place when the protein is encapsulated in methyl modified silica networks.We gratefully acknowledge Jesus Yanez and Prof. Jose Miguel Martin-Martinez from the Laboratory of Adhesion and Adhesives (University of Alicante) for their assistance in the measurements of contact angle. We also acknowledge the Financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER y Ciencia (MAT2010-15273), Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO2013/038), and the Fundacion Ramon Areces (CIVP16A1821). Alonso Gamero-Quijano is grateful to Generalitat Valenciana (Santiago Grisolia Program) for the funding of his research fellowship.Gamero-Quijano, A.; Huerta, F.; MorallĂłn, E.; Montilla, F. (2014). Modulation of the silica sol-gel composition for the promotion of direct electron transfer to encapsulated cytochrome. Langmuir. 30(34):10531-10538. https://doi.org/10.1021/la5023517S1053110538303
Electrochemistry of nanozeolite-immobilized cytochrome c in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions
peer-reviewedThe electrochemical properties of cytochrome c (cyt c) immobilized on multilayer nanozeolite-modified electrodes have been examined in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions. Layers of Linde type-L zeolites were assembled on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass electrodes followed by the adsorption of cyt c, primarily via electrostatic interactions, onto modified ITO electrodes. The heme protein displayed a quasi-reversible response in aqueous solution with a redox potential of +324 mV (vs NHE), and the surface coverage (Gamma*) increased linearly for the first four layers and then gave a nearly constant value of 200 pmol cm(-2). On immersion of the modified electrodes in 95% (v/v) nonaqueous solutions, the redox potential decreased significantly, a decrease that originated from changes in both the enthalpy and entropy of reduction. On reimmersion of the modified electrode in buffer, the faradic response immediately returned to its original value. These results demonstrate that nanozeolites are potential stable supports for redox proteins and enzymes.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe
Recent advances in understanding hypertension development in sub-Saharan Africa
Consistent reports indicate that hypertension is a particularly common finding in black populations. Hypertension occurs at younger ages and is often more severe in terms of blood pressure levels and organ damage than in whites, resulting in a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality. This review provides an outline of recent advances in the pathophysiological understanding of blood pressure elevation and the consequences thereof in black populations in Africa. This is set against the backdrop of populations undergoing demanding and rapid demographic transition, where infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus predominates, and where under and over-nutrition coexist. Collectively, recent findings from Africa illustrate an increased lifetime risk to hypertension from foetal life onwards. From young ages black populations display early endothelial dysfunction, increased vascular tone and reactivity, microvascular structural adaptions, as well as increased aortic stiffness resulting in elevated central and brachial blood pressures during the day and night, when compared to whites. Together with knowledge on the contributions of sympathetic activation and abnormal renal sodium handling, these pathophysiological adaptations result in subclinical and clinical organ damage at younger ages.
This overall enhanced understanding on the determinants of blood pressure elevation in blacks encourages (a) novel approaches to assess and manage hypertension in Africa better, (b) further scientific discovery to develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies, and (c) policymakers and health advocates to collectively contribute in creating health-promoting environments in Africa
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Concurrent evaluation of cytokines improves the accuracy of antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis
Data availability statement: All the important data relevant to this study was reported in the manuscript. Any additional data will be made available upon request from the corresponding author.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Background:
Antibodies against mycobacterial proteins are highly specific, but lack sensitivity, whereas cytokines have been shown to be sensitive but not very specific in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). We assessed combinations between antibodies and cytokines for diagnosing TB.
Methods:
Immuoglubulin (Ig) A and IgM antibody titres against selected mycobacterial antigens including Apa, NarL, Rv3019c, PstS1, LAM, âKit 1â (MTP64 and Tpx)â, and âKit 2â (MPT64, Tpx and 19 kDa) were evaluated by ELISA in plasma samples obtained from individuals under clinical suspicion for TB. Combinations between the antibody titres and previously published cytokine responses in the same participants were assessed for diagnosing active TB.
Results:
Antibody responses were more promising when used in combination (AUC of 0.80), when all seven antibodies were combined. When anti-âKit 1â-IgA levels were combined with five host cytokine biomarkers, the AUC increased to 97% (92â100%) with a sensitivity of 95% (95% CI, 73â100%), and specificity of 88.5% (95% CI, 68.7â97%) achieved after leave-one-out cross validation.
Conclusion:
When used in combination, IgA titres measured with ELISA against multiple Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens may be useful in the diagnosis of TB. However, diagnostic accuracy may be improved if the antibodies are used in combination with cytokines.This work was part of the EDCTP1 programme supported by the European Union (grant number IP_2009_32040, AE-TBC; awarded to GW). The project was also supported by the South African Government through the National Research Foundation (NRF, awarded to NC) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC, postgraduate scholarship to RJ)
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