Performance of the low-latency GstLAL inspiral search towards LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA's fourth observing run

GstLAL is a stream-based matched-filtering search pipeline aiming at the prompt discovery of gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences such as the mergers of black holes and neutron stars. Over the past three observation runs by the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA (LVK) collaboration, the GstLAL search pipeline has participated in several tens of gravitational wave discoveries. The fourth observing run (O4) is set to begin in May 2023 and is expected to see the discovery of many new and interesting gravitational wave signals which will inform our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. We describe the current configuration of the GstLAL low-latency search and show its readiness for the upcoming observation run by presenting its performance on a mock data challenge. The mock data challenge includes 40 days of LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston, and Virgo strain data along with an injection campaign in order to fully characterize the performance of the search. We find an improved performance in terms of detection rate and significance estimation as compared to that observed in the O3 online analysis. The improvements are attributed to several incremental advances in the likelihood ratio ranking statistic computation and the method of background estimation.Comment: 19 pages, 21 figure

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Not AvailableSocial media plays a vital role in present era for faster, easier and mass propagation of innovative ideas in Agriculture and Livestock sector. Several social media viz. YouTube video, WhatsApp and Mobile Apps were used to popularized the B-N Hybrid technology among the farmers. An educational video “Napier as Green Fodder Crop” was developed and uploaded on YouTube. The user behaviour data of 14636 viewers was analysed using YouTube analytics. Further, 99.77 per cent of the viewers accessed the YouTube video were from India and 48.2 per cent of the viewers were in age group of 25–34 years. Mobile phones contributed 50.7 per cent of the total watch-time. The videos were shared by viewers on social media with 67.9 per cent through WhatsApp. The WhatsApp group played a vital role in knowledge sharing and clarification of doubts. The queries were answered by experts and farmers members of WhatsApp and 89.13 per cent of farmers were satisfactory towards the WhatsApp group.Not Availabl

Recyclable Thermoresponsive Polymer−β-Glucosidase Conjugate with Intact Hydrolysis Activity

β-Glucosidase (BG) catalyzes the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose and is a rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to sugars toward biofuels. Since the cost of enzyme is a major contributor to biofuel economics, we report the bioconjugation of a temperature-responsive polymer with the highly active thermophilic β-glucosidase (B8CYA8) from Halothermothrix orenii toward improving enzyme recyclability. The bioconjugate, with a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 33 °C withstands high temperatures up to 70 °C. Though the secondary structure of the enzyme in the conjugate is slightly distorted with a higher percentage of β-sheet like structure, the stability and specific activity of B8CYA8 in the conjugate remains unaltered up to 30 °C and retains more than 70% specific activity of the unmodified enzyme at 70 °C. The conjugate can be reused for β-glucosidic bond cleavage of cellobiose for at least four cycles without any significant loss in specific activity

Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in the Ganga River Basin: A Future Health Danger

This study highlights the severity of arsenic contamination in the Ganga River basin (GRB), which encompasses significant geographic portions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Tibet. The entire GRB experiences elevated levels of arsenic in the groundwater (up to 4730 µg/L), irrigation water (~1000 µg/L), and in food materials (up to 3947 µg/kg), all exceeding the World Health Organization’s standards for drinking water, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization’s standard for irrigation water (100 µg/L), and the Chinese Ministry of Health’s standard for food in South Asia (0.15 mg/kg), respectively. Several individuals demonstrated dermal, neurological, reproductive, cognitive, and cancerous effects; many children have been diagnosed with a range of arsenicosis symptoms, and numerous arsenic-induced deaths of youthful victims are reported in the GRB. Victims of arsenic exposure face critical social challenges in the form of social isolation and hatred by their respective communities. Reluctance to establish arsenic standards and unsustainable arsenic mitigation programs have aggravated the arsenic calamity in the GRB and put millions of lives in danger. This alarming situation resembles a ticking time bomb. We feel that after 29 years of arsenic research in the GRB, we have seen the tip of the iceberg with respect to the actual magnitude of the catastrophe; thus, a reduced arsenic standard for drinking water, testing all available drinking water sources, and sustainable and cost-effective arsenic mitigation programs that include the participation of the people are urgently needed

Cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions to improve diagnosis and preventive therapy for paediatric tuberculosis in 9 sub-Saharan African countries: A modelling study.

BackgroundOver 1 million children aged 0 to 14 years were estimated to develop tuberculosis in 2021, resulting in over 200,000 deaths. Practical interventions are urgently needed to improve diagnosis and antituberculosis treatment (ATT) initiation in children aged 0 to 14 years and to increase coverage of tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) in children at high risk of developing tuberculosis disease. The multicountry CaP-TB intervention scaled up facility-based intensified case finding and strengthened household contact management and TPT provision at HIV clinics. To add to the limited health-economic evidence on interventions to improve ATT and TPT in children, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the CaP-TB intervention.Methods and findingsWe analysed clinic-level pre/post data to quantify the impact of the CaP-TB intervention on ATT and TPT initiation across 9 sub-Saharan African countries. Data on tuberculosis diagnosis and ATT/TPT initiation counts with corresponding follow-up time were available for 146 sites across the 9 countries prior to and post project implementation, stratified by 0 to 4 and 5 to 14 year age-groups. Preintervention data were retrospectively collected from facility registers for a 12-month period, and intervention data were prospectively collected from December 2018 to June 2021 using project-specific forms. Bayesian generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate country-level rate ratios for tuberculosis diagnosis and ATT/TPT initiation. We analysed project expenditure and cascade data to determine unit costs of intervention components and used mathematical modelling to project health impact, health system costs, and cost-effectiveness. Overall, ATT and TPT initiation increased, with country-level incidence rate ratios varying between 0.8 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 0.7 to 1.0) and 2.9 (95% UI, 2.3 to 3.6) for ATT and between 1.6 (95% UI, 1.5 to 1.8) and 9.8 (95% UI, 8.1 to 11.8) for TPT. We projected that for every 100 children starting either ATT or TPT at baseline, the intervention package translated to between 1 (95% UI, -1 to 3) and 38 (95% UI, 24 to 58) deaths averted, with a median incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of US$634 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. ICERs ranged between US$135/DALY averted in Democratic of the Congo and US$6,804/DALY averted in Cameroon. The main limitation of our study is that the impact is based on pre/post comparisons, which could be confounded.ConclusionsIn most countries, the CaP-TB intervention package improved tuberculosis treatment and prevention services for children aged under 15 years, but large variation in estimated impact and ICERs highlights the importance of local context.Trial registrationThis evaluation is part of the TIPPI study, registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03948698)

HIV community index testing reaches proportionally more males than facility-based testing and is cost-effective: A study from Gaza province, Mozambique.

BackgroundIn Mozambique, 38.7% of women and 60.4% of men ages 15-59 years old living with HIV do not know their HIV status. A pilot home-based HIV counseling and testing program based on index cases in the community was implemented in eight districts in Gaza province (Mozambique). The pilot targeted the sexual partners, biological children under 14 years old living in the same household, and parents (for pediatric cases) of people living with HIV. The study aimed to estimate the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of community index testing and compare the HIV testing outputs with facility-based testing.MethodsCommunity index testing costs included the following categories: human resources, HIV rapid tests, travel and transportation for supervision and home visits, training, supplies and consumables, and review and coordination meetings. Costs were estimated from a health systems perspective using a micro-costing approach. All project costs were incurred between October 2017 and September 2018 and converted to U.S. dollars ($) using the prevailing exchange rate. We estimated the cost per individual tested, per new HIV diagnosis, and per infection averted.ResultsA total of 91,411 individuals were tested for HIV through community index testing, of which 7,011 were newly diagnosed with HIV. Human resources (52$5.82, per new HIV diagnosis was $65.32, and per infection averted per year was$1,813. Furthermore, the community index testing approach proportionally tested more males (53%) than facility-based testing (27%).ConclusionThese data suggest that expansion of the community index case approach may be an effective and efficient strategy to increase the identification of previously undiagnosed HIV-positive individuals, particularly males

Household costs incurred under community- and facility-based service-delivery models of tuberculosis preventive therapy for children: a survey in Cameroon and Uganda

# Background Tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) in child household contacts is recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) but limited data has been reported on the costs experienced by households with children receiving TPT. # Methods We evaluated the economic impact on households with children receiving TPT within a service-delivery model cluster-randomised controlled trial in Cameroon and Uganda. The intervention included community health worker-led home-based child-contact screening, TPT initiation and monitoring, and referral of children with presumptive tuberculosis or side effects, and was compared with each country's facility-based standard of care (control). We used a retrospective cross-sectional survey adapted from the WHO Global task force on tuberculosis patient cost surveys. All costs were collected between February 2021 and March 2021 and are presented in 2021 US\$. # Results The median household costs estimated using the human capital approach were higher in the control arm (\$62.96 $$interquartile range, IQR; \$19.78-239.74$$ in Cameroon and \$35.95 $$IQR; \$29.03-91.26$$ in Uganda) compared to the intervention arm (\$2.73 $$IQR; \$2.73-14.18$$ in Cameroon and \$4.55 $$IQR; \$3.03-6.06$$ in Uganda). Using a threshold of 20% of annual household income, 15% (95%CI; 5-31%) of households in Cameroon and 14% (95%CI; 4-26%) in Uganda experienced catastrophic costs in the control compared to 3% (95%CI; 1- 8%) in Cameroon and 3% (95%CI; 1-8%) in Uganda in the intervention. Using the output-based approach to estimate income losses increased costs by 14-32% in the control and 13-19% in the intervention across the two countries. The proportion of participants experiencing any dissaving was higher in the control, 53% (95%CI; 36-71%) in Cameroon and 50% (95%CI; 31-69%) in Uganda, compared to 18% (95%CI; 10-29%) in Cameroon and 17% (95%CI; 8-28%) in Uganda in the intervention. # Conclusions Households with child contacts initiated on TPT under a facility-based model incur significant costs. Community-based interventions help to reduce these costs but do not eliminate catastrophic expenditures. \ **Registration** https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03832023

Household costs incurred when seeking and receiving paediatric tuberculosis services: a survey in Cameroon and Kenya

# Background Elimination of catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis (TB) is one of the three targets of the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB Strategy. Limited data have yet been reported on the costs experienced by households of children receiving TB services. We quantified the economic impact on households with children seeking and receiving TB services during the Catalyzing Pediatric TB Innovations (CaP-TB) project in Cameroon and Kenya. # Methods Within the INPUT stepped-wedge cluster-randomised study evaluating the effect of CaP-TB integration of TB services in paediatric entry points, we designed a cross-sectional facility-based survey with retrospective data collection using a standardised questionnaire adapted from the WHO Global taskforce on TB patient cost generic survey instrument. Caregivers of children receiving TB services (screening, diagnosis and treatment of drug-sensitive TB) during the CaP-TB project were interviewed between November 2020 and June 2021. Direct medical, direct non-medical, and indirect costs for TB services were analysed following WHO Global taskforce recommendations. We used the human capital and output-based approaches to estimating income loss. All costs are presented in 2021 US dollars. # Results A total of 56 caregivers representing their households (Cameroon, 26, and Kenya, 30) were interviewed. The median household costs for TB services, estimated using the human capital approach, were \$255 (IQR; \$130-631) in Cameroon and \$120 (\$65-236) in Kenya. The main cost drivers across both countries were direct non-medical costs (transportation and food), 52%; and medical costs, 34%. Approximately 50% of households reported experiencing dissavings (taking a loan, or selling an asset) to deal with costs related to TB disease. Using a threshold of 20% of annual household income, 50% (95%CI; 37-63%) of households experienced catastrophic costs when using the human capital approach; (46% (95%CI; 29-65%) in Cameroon and 53% (95%CI; 36-70%) in Kenya). Estimated costs and incidence of catastrophic costs increased when using the output-based approach in a sensitivity analysis. # Conclusions Accessing and receiving TB services for children results in high levels of cost to households, despite the provision of free TB services. Strategies to reduce costs for TB services for children need to address social protection measures or explore decentralisation. **Registration:** https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03862261

Have the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown affected children’s mental health in the long term? A repeated cross-sectional study

Objective The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.Design Cross-sectional surveys were carried out on the mental health of children; one survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and one into the pandemic, 15 months after the school closures and implementation of lockdown and social distancing. Demographic data and COVID-19 pandemic-related data were collected from specific parent-report and self-report questionnaires.Participants Participants included children and adolescents between ages 6 and 16 years, attending a tertiary care hospital without any diagnosed major psychiatric or chronic disorder.Analysis Data were collected at two points (before the COVID-19 pandemic and during it) and compared. Levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms were compared and tested for statistically significant differences between these two points using appropriate statistical tests. Regression models were constructed to predict the factors affecting increased anxiety levels and depressive symptoms in the COVID-19 period.Results 832 and 1255 children/adolescents were included in the study during the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 times, respectively. The median age of the participants was 10 years (IQR=4 years). The median (IQR) Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale score was 24 (12) at the pre-COVID-19 point and 31 (13) during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001, r=−0.27). 11% and 16% of children reported being depressed at these two-time points, respectively (p=0.004, φc=−0.063). Regression analysis showed that many factors, including the duration of smartphone use, female gender and only child status, were associated with increased anxiety or depression levels.Conclusion A large proportion of children had elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms during the pandemic relative to before the pandemic, suggesting a need for measures to engage children in healthy habits to protect children’s mental health and continuous monitoring of children during such scenarios