Prenatal Care Enhanced with Digital Health Tools Can Reduce Visit Frequency While Improving Patient Satisfaction

100 low-risk obstetric patients were enrolled to evaluate the use of digital health technology in prenatal care. 50 patients were placed on an alternate prenatal care schedule (8 visits), supplemented with an integrated technology platform of a mobile application and connected devices including a wireless weight scale and blood pressure cuff. The remaining 50 control patients received routine care, without the technology platform. Patients were evaluated for satisfaction and engagement throughout pregnancy

Exposing Multi-Relational Networks to Single-Relational Network Analysis Algorithms

Many, if not most network analysis algorithms have been designed specifically for single-relational networks; that is, networks in which all edges are of the same type. For example, edges may either represent "friendship," "kinship," or "collaboration," but not all of them together. In contrast, a multi-relational network is a network with a heterogeneous set of edge labels which can represent relationships of various types in a single data structure. While multi-relational networks are more expressive in terms of the variety of relationships they can capture, there is a need for a general framework for transferring the many single-relational network analysis algorithms to the multi-relational domain. It is not sufficient to execute a single-relational network analysis algorithm on a multi-relational network by simply ignoring edge labels. This article presents an algebra for mapping multi-relational networks to single-relational networks, thereby exposing them to single-relational network analysis algorithms.Comment: ISSN:1751-157

Quantifying pulsed laser induced damage to grapheme

As an emerging optical material, graphene’s ultrafast dynamics are often probed using pulsed lasers yet the region in which optical damage takes place is largely uncharted. Here, femtosecond laser pulses induced localized damage in single-layer graphene on sapphire. Raman spatial mapping, SEM, and AFM microscopy quantified the damage. The resulting size of the damaged area has a linear correlation with the optical fluence. These results demonstrate local modification of sp2-carbon bonding structures with optical pulse fluences as low as 14 mJ/cm2, an order-of-magnitude lower than measured and theoretical ablation thresholds

Prevalence of HIV and associated risk factors among street-connected children in Mwanza city

While on the street, HIV infection among street-connected children is a challenging issue due to the nature of transmission, distribution, and prevention. Lack of proper care and protection, insufficient knowledge of the danger of acquiring HIV, and insufficient or absence of health facilities serving street-connected children have left this vulnerable group engaging in high-risk behaviors exposing them to acquiring HIV. This cross-sectional study aimed at estimating the prevalence of HIV infection and its associated risk factors among street-connected children aged between 10 to17 years in Mwanza City. The study was granted ethical clearance all permissions and restrictions to work with street-connected children were adhered to. A total of 131 participants aged 10-17 years were recruited for interviews and HIV testing. Exact logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with having HIV. A total of 111 (85.0%) boys and 20 (15.0%) girls responded to the questionnaire, with the median age being 15years. The overall HIV prevalence was 12.2% (16/131). Street-children using condoms were less likely to be affected by HIV compared to those who were not using (OR = 0.24; 95% CI 0.04-0.97). Females had higher odds of HIV infection compared to males (OR = 5.24; 95% CI of 1.24-24.65). The study shows a significantly higher prevalence of HIV among street-connected children as compared to the general population. Therefore, there should be tailored reproductive and sexual health programs, with the provision of protective materials like condoms

Internal versus external motivation in referral of primary care patients with depression to an internet support group: randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Depressive disorders and symptoms affect more than one-third of primary care patients, many of whom do not receive or do not complete treatment. Internet-based social support from peers could sustain depression treatment engagement and adherence. We do not know whether primary care patients will accept referral to such websites nor do we know which methods of referral would be most effective. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine whether (1) a simple generic referral card (control), (2) a patient-oriented brochure that provided examples of online postings and experience (internal motivation), or (3) a physician letter of recommendation (external motivation) would generate the greatest participation in a primary care Internet depression treatment support portal focused around an Internet support group (ISG). METHODS: We used 3 offline methods to identify potential participants who had not used an ISG in the past 6 months. Eligibility was determined in part by a brief structured psychiatric interview based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). After consent and enrollment, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups (control, internal motivation, or external motivation). We constructed a portal to connect primary care patients to both fact-based information and an established ISG (Psycho-Babble). The ISG allowed participants to view messages and then decide if they actually wished to register there. Participation in the portal and the ISG was assessed via automated activity tracking. RESULTS: Fifty participants were assigned to the 3 groups: a motivation-neutral control group (n=18), an internal motivation group (n=19), and an external motivation group (n=13). Of these participants, 31 (62%) visited the portal; 27 (54%) visited the ISG itself. The internal motivation group showed significantly greater participation than the control group on several measures. The external motivation group spent significantly less time logged onto the portal than the control group. The internal motivation group showed significantly greater participation than the external motivation group on several measures. CONCLUSIONS: Referral of primary care patients with depressive disorders and symptoms to an ISG is feasible even if they have never previously used one. This may best be accomplished by enhancing their internal motivation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00886730; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00886730 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6F4981fDN)

A Mobile Prenatal Care App to Reduce In-Person Visits: Prospective Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Risk-appropriate prenatal care has been asserted as a way for the cost-effective delivery of prenatal care. A virtual care model for prenatal care has the potential to provide patient-tailored, risk-appropriate prenatal educational content and may facilitate vital sign and weight monitoring between visits. Previous studies have demonstrated a safe reduction in the frequency of in-person prenatal care visits among low-risk patients but have noted a reduction in patient satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a mobile prenatal care app to facilitate a reduced in-person visit schedule for low-risk pregnancies while maintaining patient and provider satisfaction. METHODS: This controlled trial compared a control group receiving usual care with an experimental group receiving usual prenatal care and using a mobile prenatal care app. The experimental group had a planned reduction in the frequency of in-person office visits, whereas the control group had the usual number of visits. The trial was conducted at 2 diverse outpatient obstetric (OB) practices that are part of a single academic center in Washington, DC, United States. Women were eligible for enrollment if they presented to care in the first trimester, were aged between 18 and 40 years, had a confirmed desired pregnancy, were not considered high-risk, and had an iOS or Android smartphone that they used regularly. We measured the effectiveness of a virtual care platform for prenatal care via the following measured outcomes: the number of in-person OB visits during pregnancy and patient satisfaction with prenatal care. RESULTS: A total of 88 patients were enrolled in the study, 47 in the experimental group and 41 in the control group. For patients in the experimental group, the average number of in-person OB visits during pregnancy was 7.8 and the average number in the control group was 10.2 (P=.01). There was no statistical difference in patient satisfaction (P\u3e.05) or provider satisfaction (P\u3e.05) in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a mobile prenatal care app was associated with reduced in-person visits, and there was no reduction in patient or provider satisfaction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02914301; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02914301 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/76S55M517)

First whole-genome analysis of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) obtained from COVID-19 patients from five districts in Western Serbia

This study was endeavoured to contribute in furthering our understanding of the molecular epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by sequencing and analysing the first full-length genome sequences obtained from 48 coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients in five districts in Western Serbia in the period April 2020-July 2020. SARS-CoV-2 sequences in Western Serbia distinguished from the Wuhan sequence in 128 SNPs in total. The phylogenetic structure of local SARS-CoV-2 isolates suggested the existence of at least four distinct groups of SARS-CoV-2 strains in Western Serbia. The first group is the most similar to the strain from Italy. These isolates included two 20A sequences and 15-30 20B sequences that displayed a newly occurring set of four conjoined mutations. The second group is the most similar to the strain from France, carrying two mutations and belonged to 20A clade. The third group is the most similar to the strain from Switzerland carrying four co-occurring mutations and belonging to 20B clade. The fourth group is the most similar to another strain from France, displaying one mutation that gave rise to a single local isolate that belonged to 20A clade