TLTF in cerebrospinal fluid for detection and staging of T. b. gambiense infection

Background: Trypanosome-derived lymphocyte triggering factor (TLTF) is a molecule released by African trypanosomes that interacts with the host immune system, resulting in increased levels of IFN-c production. Methodology/Principal findings: TLTF and anti-TLTF antibodies were assessed in sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (T. b. gambiense) in an attempt to identify alternative markers for diagnosis and stage determination of human African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness. Seventy-four serum and sixtyone CSF samples from patients with parasitologically confirmed infection and known disease stage along with 13 sera and CSF from uninfected controls were tested. In serum the levels of anti-TLTF antibodies were unrelated to the disease stage. In contrast, levels of anti-TLTF antibodies in CSF were higher in intermediate/late stages than in early stage disease patients. Specificity of the detected antibodies was assessed by inhibition of TLTF bioactivity as represented by its ability to induce IFN-c production. Additionally, TLTF was detected in CSF from late stage patients by Western blotting with the anti-TLTF specific monoclonal antibody MO3. Conclusions/Significance: These findings suggest a new possibility for disease diagnosis with focus on involvement of the CNS through detection of TLTF and anti-TLTF antibodies in the CSF

Selective Exposure to Berita Harian Online and Utusan Malaysia Online: The Roles of Surveillance Motivation, Website Usability and Website Attractiveness

News media allows audiences to be selective in determining both their news sources and type of news stories they read. This study examined factors influencing selective exposure to the online editions of two mainstream Malaysian newspapers, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia. Using selective exposure theory as the theoretical lens, this study compared both newspapers in terms of their audiences’ level of surveillance motivation, and how audiences rate the newspapers’ websites with respect to usability and attractiveness. This study used a within-subject experimental research design that exposed 51 subjects to both Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia online newspapers. The results of the experiment indicate that Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia online were significantly different in terms of website usability; however, no significant differences were found in terms of surveillance motivation or website attractiveness between the two newspapers. Further analysis indicate that the only significant predictor of selective exposure was website usability. This study highlights the importance of website usability for online newspapers wanting to harness audience selectivity

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Element patterns in albatrosses and petrels: influence of trophic position, foraging range, and prey type

We investigated the concentrations of 22 essential and non-essential elements among a community of Procellariiformes (and their prey) to identify the extent to which trophic position and foraging range governed element accumulation. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) was used to characterise trophic (δ15N) and spatial patterns (δ13C) among species. Few consistent patterns were observed in element distributions among species and diet appeared to be highly influential in some instances. Arsenic levels in seabird red blood cells correlated with δ15N and δ13C, demonstrating the importance of trophic position and foraging range for arsenic distribution. Arsenic concentrations in prey varied significantly across taxa, and in the strength of association with δ15N values (trophic level). In most instances, element patterns in Procellariiformes showed the clearest separation among species, indicating that a combination of prey selection and other complex species-specific characteristics (e.g. moult patterns) were generally more important determining factors than trophic level per se

In vivo antioxidant and antiulcer activity of Parkia speciosa ethanolic leaf extract against Ethanol-Induced gastric ulcer in rats

Background: The current study was carried out to examine the gastroprotective effects of Parkia speciosa against ethanolinduced gastric mucosa injury in rats. Methodology/Principal Findings: Sprague Dawley rats were separated into 7 groups. Groups 1–2 were orally challenged with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC); group 3 received 20 mg/kg omeprazole and groups 4–7 received 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of ethanolic leaf extract, respectively. After 1 h, CMC or absolute ethanol was given orally to groups 2–7. The rats were sacrificed after 1 h. Then, the injuries to the gastric mucosa were estimated through assessment of the gastric wall mucus, the gross appearance of ulcer areas, histology, immunohistochemistry and enzymatic assays. Group 2 exhibited significant mucosal injuries, with reduced gastric wall mucus and severe damage to the gastric mucosa, whereas reductions in mucosal injury were observed for groups 4–7. Groups 3–7 demonstrated a reversal in the decrease in Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining induced by ethanol. No symptoms of toxicity or death were observed during the acute toxicity tests. Conclusion: Treatment with the extract led to the upregulation of heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) and the downregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein BAX. Significant increases in the levels of the antioxidant defense enzymes glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the gastric mucosal homogenate were observed, whereas that of a lipid peroxidation marker(MDA) was significantly decreased. Significance was defined as p,0.05 compared to the ulcer control group (Group 2)

Growth of MAPbBr3 perovskite crystals and its interfacial properties with Al and Ag contacts for perovskite solar cells

In this work, the MAPbBr3 perovskite crystals were grown and the interfacial properties of the poly-crystalline MAPbBr3 with Aluminum (Al) and Silver (Ag) contacts has been investigated. MAPbBr3 crystals are turned into the poly-crystalline pellets (PCP) using compaction technique and the Al/PCP, Al/interface layer/PCP, Ag/PCP, and Ag/interface layer/PCP contacts were investigated. Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristic technique were used to have an insight of the degradation mechanism happening at the Metal/perovskite interface. The Ag/PCP contact appears to be stable, whereas Al is found to be highly reactive with the MAPbBr3 perovskite crystals due to the infiltration setback of Al in to the perovskite crystals. The interface layer showed a slight effect on the penetration of Al in to the perovskite crystals however it does not seem to be an appropriate solution. It is noteworthy that the stability of the underlying metal/perovskite contact is very crucial towards the perovskite solar cells with extended device lifetime. 1 2017 Elsevier B.V.The authors are thankful to the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University for the support during this work. This publication was partially made possible by NPRP grant # 6-175-2-070 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

COVID-19 infection is related to differences in the use of personal protective equipment by orthopaedic specialist trainees caring for hip fracture patients during the second surge of COVID-19 in the North West of England

Introduction Personal protective equipment (PPE) may protect health-care workers from COVID-19 infection and limit nosocomial spread to vulnerable hip fracture patients. Methods We performed a cross-sectional survey amongst orthopaedic trainees to explore PPE practice in 19 hospitals caring for hip fracture patients in the North West of England. Results During the second wave of the pandemic, 14/19 (74%) hospitals experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 amongst staff or patients on the orthopaedic wards. An FFP3 respirator mask was used by doctors in only 6/19 (32%) hospitals when seeing patients with COVID-19 and a cough and in 5/19 (26%) hospitals when seeing asymptomatic patients with COVID-19. A COVID-19 outbreak was reported in 11/13 (85%) orthopaedic units where staff wore fluid resistant surgical masks compared to 3/6 (50%) units using an FFP3 respirator mask (RR 1.69, 95% CI 0.74–3.89) when caring for symptomatic patients with COVID-19. Similarly, a COVID-19 outbreak was reported in more orthopaedic units caring for asymptomatic patients with COVID-19 where staff wore fluid resistant surgical masks (12/14 (86%)) as compared to an FFP3 respirator mask (2/5 (40%)) (RR 2.14, 95% CI 0.72–6.4). Conclusion Urgent re-evaluation of PPE use is required to reduce nosocomial spread of COVID-19, amongst highly vulnerable patients with hip fracture

SOI based integrated on-chip photonic pressure sensor

A compact, mass producible Silicon On Insulator (SOI) based pressure sensor consisting of a folded Micro Ring Resonator (MRR) on a circular diaphragm is successfully designed, fabricated and characterized [1-3]. The MRR is designed to be single mode for TE polarized light at 1550 nm. The folded MRR has a total length of 1500 μm which is folded to cover an area of 50X400 μm2 and has a guide-width of 450 nm. The circular diaphragm having a diameter of 1350 μm and a thickness of 15 μm is fabricated by reactive ion etching from the substrate side. Light is coupled into the MRR through the “in” port and measured at the “through” port using grating couplers. An application of pressure deflects the membrane, causing stress in the MRR, which in turn changes the effective refractive index the waveguide [4]. This results in a shift in its resonant wavelengths, which represent the applied pressure. Figure 1A shows the measured linear dependence between the resonance wavelength shift and the applied pressure at a constant temperature. Figure 1 B shows a SEM image of part of the membrane with MRR and Figure 1 C shows a schematic of the folded MRR. Such a pressure sensor finds applications in environments in which only minimal invasion is tolerated, such as in medical instrumentation

SOI based mechano-optical pressure sensor using a folded micro ring resonator

A compact, mass producible Silicon On Insulator (SOI) based pressure sensor consisting of a folded Micro Ring Resonator (MRR) on a circular diaphragm is successfully designed, fabricated and characterized. An application of pressure deflects the diaphragm, causing stress in the MRR, which elongates the waveguide length and changes the effective refractive index of the guided mode. This results in a shift in its resonant wavelengths, which represents the applied pressure. This integrated device is successfully fabricated and a linear dependence between the resonance wavelength shift and the applied pressure at a constant temperature is measured. Such a pressure sensor finds applications in environments in which only minimal invasion is tolerated