Is ALT control really necessary for routine ART monitoring in resource poor settings?

2006 AIDS Conference in Toront

Simplified Data Analytics for the Accurate Evaluation of a New Venture’s Market Potential

This article examines the creation of an accurate market projection designed with easy-to-use, cost-effective data analytic techniques. Many of the techniques explored are derived from the subdisciplines of decision support and data warehousing found in the information technology arena. Two significant contributions are presented: a simple mathematical technique that eliminates the need for heuristics, and the simplification of the process to the point where no computer or sophisticated statistical analysis is needed

Brain in flames - animal models of psychosis: utility and limitations

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that schizophrenia is a psychopathological condition resulting from aberrations in neurodevelopmental processes caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors which proceed long before the onset of clinical symptoms. Many studies discuss an immunological component in the onset and progression of schizophrenia. We here review studies utilizing animal models of schizophrenia with manipulations of genetic, pharmacologic, and immunological origin. We focus on the immunological component to bridge the studies in terms of evaluation and treatment options of negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms. Throughout the review we link certain aspects of each model to the situation in human schizophrenic patients. In conclusion we suggest a combination of existing models to better represent the human situation. Moreover, we emphasize that animal models represent defined single or multiple symptoms or hallmarks of a given disease

The Arbitrary Coherence Effect and Decision Making

In Behavioral Economics, “arbitrary coherence” is when an arbitrary, randomly chosen number, influences the amount purchasers are willing to pay for a product. Arbitrary coherence is similar to anchoring which marketers sometimes use to help set optimal prices. This paper examines how the arbitrary coherence effect influences individual decision making

Loss of correlation between HIV viral load and CD4+ T-cell counts in HIV/HTLV-1 co-infection in treatment naive Mozambican patients

Seven hundred and four HIV-1/2-positive, antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve patients were screened for HTLV-1 infection. Antibodies to HTLV-1 were found in 32/704 (4.5%) of the patients. Each co-infected individual was matched with two HIV mono-infected patients according to World Health Organization clinical stage, age +/-5 years and gender. Key clinical and laboratory characteristics were compared between the two groups. Mono-infected and co-infected patients displayed similar clinical characteristics. However, co-infected patients had higher absolute CD4+ T-cell counts (P = 0.001), higher percentage CD4+ T-cell counts (P < 0.001) and higher CD4/CD8 ratios (P < 0.001). Although HIV plasma RNA viral loads were inversely correlated with CD4+ T-cell-counts in mono-infected patients (P < 0.0001), a correlation was not found in co-infected individuals (P = 0.11). Patients with untreated HIV and HTLV-1 co-infection show a dissociation between immunological and HIV virological markers. Current recommendations for initiating ART and chemoprophylaxis against opportunistic infections in resource-poor settings rely on more readily available CD4+ T-cell counts without viral load parameters. These guidelines are not appropriate for co-infected individuals in whom high CD4+ T-cell counts persist despite high HIV viral load states. Thus, for co-infected patients, even in resource-poor settings, HIV viral loads are likely to contribute information crucial for the appropriate timing of ART introduction

Development and distribution of the non-indigenous Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in the Dutch Wadden Sea

Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) were first observed in the Dutch Wadden Sea near Texel in 1983. The population increased slowly in the beginning but grew exponentially from the mid-1990s onwards, although now some stabilisation seems to be occurring. They occur on a variety of substrates such as mussel beds (Mytilus edulis), shell banks, dikes and poles. After initial settlement spat may fall on older individuals and congregate to dense clumps and subsequently form reefs. Individual Pacific oysters grow 3–4 cm long in their first year and 2–3 cm in their second year. Many mussel beds (Mytilus edulis) are slowly taken over by Pacific oysters, but there are also several reports of mussel spat settling on Pacific oyster reefs. This might in the end result in combined reefs. Successful Pacific oyster spat fall seems to be related to high summer temperatures, but also after mild summers much spat can be found on old (Pacific oyster) shells. Predation is of limited importance. Mortality factors are unknown, but every now and then unexplained mass mortality occurs. The gradual spread of the Pacific oyster in the Dutch Wadden Sea is documented in the first instance based on historical and anecdotal information. At the start of the more in-depth investigation in 2002, Pacific oysters of all size classes were already present near Texel. Near Ameland the development could be followed from the first observed settlement. On dense reefs each square metre may contain more than 500 adult Pacific oysters, weighing more than 100 kg per m² fresh weigh

An Integrated In Vitro–In Silico Approach for Silver Nanoparticle Dosimetry in Cell Cultures

Potential human and environmental hazards resulting from the exposure of living organisms to silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been the subject of intensive discussion in the last decade. Despite the growing use of Ag NPs in biomedical applications, a quantification of the toxic effects as a function of the total silver mass reaching cells (namely, target cell dose) is still needed. To provide a more accurate dose-response analysis, we propose a novel integrated approach combining well-established computational and experimental methodologies. We first used a particokinetic model (ISD3) for providing experimental validation of computed Ag NP sedimentation in static-cuvette experiments. After validation, ISD3 was employed to predict the total mass of silver reaching human endothelial cells and hepatocytes cultured in 96 well plates. Cell viability measured after 24 h of culture was then related to this target cell dose. Our results show that the dose perceived by the cell monolayer after 24 h of exposure is around 85% lower than the administered nominal media concentration. Therefore, accurate dosimetry considering particle characteristics and experimental conditions (e.g., time, size and shape of wells) should be employed for better interpreting effects induced by the amount of silver reaching cells

Intermittent Behavior in the AMOC-AMV Relationship

The connection between the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) is inspected in a suite of pre-industrial integrations from the 6th phase of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP6), using a change-point detection method to identify different AMOC-AMV co-variability regimes. A key finding of this study is that models robustly simulate multi-decadal windows where the AMV and the AMOC are essentially uncorrelated. These regimes coexist with longer periods with relatively high correlation. Drops and recoveries of correlation are found to be often abrupt and confined in a temporal window of the order of 10&nbsp;years. Phenomenological evidence suggests that the no-correlation regimes may be explained by drops in the variance of the AMOC: a less variable meridional heat transport leads to a suppressed co-variability of the AMV, leaving a larger role for non-AMOC drivers, consistent with a non-stationary AMOC-stationary noise interpretative framework

O programa nacional de fortalecimento da agricultura familiar no Brasil: uma análise sobre a distribuição regional e setorial dos recursos.

No Brasil, as políticas públicas para o espaço rural sempre tenderam a priorizar a agricultura patronal, em detrimento dos agricultores familiares. Todavia, os estudos realizados pelos órgãos FAO - INCRA deram subsídio para a criação do Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura Familiar (PRONAF), resultando em um novo direcionamento dos investimentos públicos, os quais passaram a contemplar o segmento dos agricultores familiares. Entende-se o PRONAF como uma política não-compensatória, que, apesar de seus problemas, tem contribuído de fato para mudanças e melhorias no espaço agrário brasileiro. Desde sua criação no final da década de 1990, o PRONAF passou por várias mudanças em sua estrutura administrativa e operacional, a fim de alcançar seus objetivos e adequar-se face a complexa realidade social agrária brasileira. Sendo assim, o presente estudo visa discutir as ações do Estado por meio desse Programa, a partir de suas linhas de atuação, bem como analisar a distribuição de suas concessões de crédito regional e setorialmente. Assim, os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados para a realização deste trabalho compreendem pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, além de pesquisa em fontes secundárias, no intuito de obter dados e informações relevantes para a análise das relações sociais estabelecidas em meio a esse processo de concretização e espacialização desse Programa. Dentre as implicações do PRONAF pode-se notar em âmbito nacional, uma diminuição da disparidade regional brasileira, bem como a preocupação que o Programa tem demonstrado com os aspectos socioculturais locais e regionais, como forma de garantir que seus investimentos perpassem a dimensão econômica, mas valorize outras dimensões, a exemplo dos elementos culturais