Psychological impact of visible differences in patients with congenital craniofacial anomalies

© 2015, Singh and Moss; licensee Springer. Background: Patients with craniofacial anomalies often have appearance concerns and related social anxiety which can affect their quality of life. This study assessed the psychological impact of facial and dental appearance in patients with craniofacial anomalies in comparison to a general population control group. Methods: The study involved 102 adult patients (51% male) with congenital craniofacial anomalies and 102 controls (49% male). Both groups completed the Nepali version of Derriford Appearance Scale (DAS) and the Psychological Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ) in a clinical setting to assess appearance-related distress, avoidance, and anxiety. Results: There was a significant difference between patients and controls on both PIDAQ (mean score for patients 33.25 ± 9.45 while for controls 27.52 ± 5.67, p < 0.001) and DAS59 scores (mean score for patients 159.16 ± 31.54 while for controls 77.64 ± 6.57, p < 0.001), indicating that patients experienced greater negative psychological impact of living with their appearance (PIDAQ) and more appearance-related distress (DAS) than controls. DAS scores were not associated with gender. There was no association of the place of residence (rural vs. urban) with PIDAQ or DAS59 scores. Conclusions: There is a significant psychological impact of altered facial and dental appearance in patients with craniofacial anomalies compared to controls. There was no effect of locality (rural/urban) on the psychological impact of facial and dental appearance in patients

Anti-α-Internexin Autoantibody from Neuropsychiatric Lupus Induce Cognitive Damage via Inhibiting Axonal Elongation and Promote Neuron Apoptosis

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is a major complication for lupus patients, which often leads to cognitive disturbances and memory loss and contributes to a significant patient morbidity and mortality. The presence of anti-neuronal autoantibodies (aAbs) has been identified; as examples, anti-NMDA receptors and anti-Ribsomal P aAbs have been linked to certain pathophysiological features of NPSLE.In the current study, we used a proteomic approach to identify an intermediate neurofilament alpha-internexin (INA) as a pathogenetically relevant autoantigen in NPSLE. The significance of this finding was then validated in an expanded of a cohort of NPSLE patients (n = 67) and controls (n = 270) by demonstrating that high titers of anti-INA aAb was found in both the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of ∼50% NPSLE. Subsequently, a murine model was developed by INA immunization that resulted in pronounced cognitive dysfunction that mimicked features of NPSLE. Histopathology in affected animals displayed cortical and hippocampal neuron apoptosis. In vitro studies further demonstrated that anti-INA Ab mediated neuronal damage via inhibiting axonal elongation and eventually driving the cells to apoptosis.Taken together, this study identified a novel anti-neurofilament aAb in NPSLE, and established a hitherto undescribed mechanism of aAb-mediated neuron damage that could have relevance to the pathophysiology of NPSLE

The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity

Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota is growing rapidly. Broadly recognizable drivers of diversity variation include energy availability and historical refugia. The impacts of local human activities and global environmental change nonetheless pose challenges to the current and future understanding of Antarctic biodiversity. Life in the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean is surprisingly rich, and as much at risk from environmental change as it is elsewher

Secrecy performance enhancement using path selection over cluster-based cognitive radio networks

In this paper, we propose three path selection methods for cluster-based cognitive radio (CR) networks for secrecy enhancement by formulating the probability of non-zero secrecy capacity (PNSC). In the proposed work, it is assumed that uniform transmit power for the secondary transmitters and jammers must be adjusted to guarantee quality of service (QoS) of the primary network, follows a simple and efficient power allocation strategy. To improve the channel capacity, the best receiver is selected at each cluster to relay the source data to the next hop. Additionally, a jammer is randomly chosen at each cluster to generate noises on an eavesdropper, and to reduce the quality of the eavesdropping links. Three methods are studied in this paper. First, we propose the BEST path selection method (BEST) to maximize the end-to-end instantaneous secrecy capacity. Second, the path obtaining the MAXimum Value for the average end-to-end PNSC (MAXV) is selected for data transmission. Third, we also propose a RAND method in which a RANDom path is employed. For performance evaluation and comparison, we derive exact closed-form expressions for the end-to-end PNSC of the BEST, MAXV and RAND methods over Rayleigh fading channel. Monte Carlo simulations are then performed to verify the derived theoretical results

Nonannual seasonality of influenza-like illness in a tropical urban setting

Background In temperate and subtropical climates, respiratory diseases exhibit seasonal peaks in winter. In the tropics, with no winter, peak timings are irregular. Methods To obtain a detailed picture of influenza-like illness (ILI) patterns in the tropics, we established an mHealth study in community clinics in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). During 2009-2015, clinics reported daily case numbers via SMS, with a subset performing molecular diagnostics for influenza virus. This real-time epidemiology network absorbs 6000 ILI reports annually, one or two orders of magnitude more than typical surveillance systems. A real-time online ILI indicator was developed to inform clinicians of the daily ILI activity in HCMC. Results From August 2009 to December 2015, 63 clinics were enrolled and 36 920 SMS reports were received, covering approximately 1.7M outpatient visits. Approximately 10.6% of outpatients met the ILI case definition. ILI activity in HCMC exhibited strong nonannual dynamics with a dominant periodicity of 206 days. This was confirmed by time series decomposition, stepwise regression, and a forecasting exercise showing that median forecasting errors are 30%‐40% lower when using a 206‐day cycle. In ILI patients from whom nasopharyngeal swabs were taken, 31.2% were positive for influenza. There was no correlation between the ILI time series and the time series of influenza, influenza A, or influenza B (all P &gt; 0.15). Conclusion This suggests, for the first time, that a nonannual cycle may be an essential driver of respiratory disease dynamics in the tropics. An immunological interference hypothesis is discussed as a potential underlying mechanism.</p

Nonannual seasonality of influenza-like illness in a tropical urban setting

Background In temperate and subtropical climates, respiratory diseases exhibit seasonal peaks in winter. In the tropics, with no winter, peak timings are irregular. Methods To obtain a detailed picture of influenza-like illness (ILI) patterns in the tropics, we established an mHealth study in community clinics in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). During 2009-2015, clinics reported daily case numbers via SMS, with a subset performing molecular diagnostics for influenza virus. This real-time epidemiology network absorbs 6000 ILI reports annually, one or two orders of magnitude more than typical surveillance systems. A real-time online ILI indicator was developed to inform clinicians of the daily ILI activity in HCMC. Results From August 2009 to December 2015, 63 clinics were enrolled and 36 920 SMS reports were received, covering approximately 1.7M outpatient visits. Approximately 10.6% of outpatients met the ILI case definition. ILI activity in HCMC exhibited strong nonannual dynamics with a dominant periodicity of 206 days. This was confirmed by time series decomposition, stepwise regression, and a forecasting exercise showing that median forecasting errors are 30%‐40% lower when using a 206‐day cycle. In ILI patients from whom nasopharyngeal swabs were taken, 31.2% were positive for influenza. There was no correlation between the ILI time series and the time series of influenza, influenza A, or influenza B (all P > 0.15). Conclusion This suggests, for the first time, that a nonannual cycle may be an essential driver of respiratory disease dynamics in the tropics. An immunological interference hypothesis is discussed as a potential underlying mechanism.</p