2,679 research outputs found
Patterns of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy among a multiracial population in a Malaysian hospital
Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) is a retinal disorder characterized by aneurismal polypoidal lesions in choroidal vasculature. PCV appears to preferentially affect pigmented individuals and is considerably high among Asians. Most reports on patterns of PCV around Asia are based on a homogenous race (e.g. Chinese, Japanese) and very few descriptions from a multiracial population like those seen in Malaysia. The present study aimed to describe the demographic features, clinical and investigative characteristics of PCV in a multiracial group at Universiti Kebangsaaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Ninety one eyes of 86 PCV patients, comprising of Chinese (65.1%), Malays (31.4%), Indians (2.3%) and Eurasian (1.2%) were retrospectively reviewed. All underwent complete ophthalmic examination and investigations. Mean patient age was 70.4 years with a male preponderance (59.3%), and mostly unilateral presentation (94.1%). The logMAR mean presenting visual acuity was 0.78 ± 0.64. Polypoidal vascular lesions were located generally within the macula area (86.8%), manifesting mainly as submacular hemorrhage (59.3%). Interestingly a number of eyes (43.9%) had associated drusen. Optical coherence tomography largely demonstrated exudative changes (75.9%) and almost all patients (97.7%) had loss of external limiting membrane (ELM) and IS/OS interface. On indocyanine green angiography, majority of eyes had multiple polyps (82.4%) with ‘cluster’ (58.2%) being the commonest configuration. In conclusion, although the patterns of PCV in UKMMC were mainly similar to other Asian patients, a number of our patients had associated drusen. This indicates that PCV in our population could be a variant of neovascular age related macular degeneration and not solely idiopathic in nature
London equation studies of thin-film superconductors with a triangular antidot lattice
We report on a study of vortex pinning in nanoscale antidot defect arrays in
the context of the London Theory. Using a wire network model, we discretize the
array with a fine mesh, thereby providing a detailed treatment of pinning
phenomena. The use of a fine grid has enabled us to examine both circular and
elongated defects, patterned in the form of a rhombus. The latter display
pinning characteristics superior to circular defects constructed with the
similar area. We calculate pinning potentials for defects containing zero and
single quanta, and we obtain a pinning phase diagram for the second matching
field, .Comment: 10 pages and 14 figure
Prospects for terahertz imaging the human skin cancer with the help of gold-nanoparticles-based terahertz-to-infrared converter
The design is suggested, and possible operation parameters are discussed, of
an instrument to inspect a skin cancer tumour in the terahertz (THz) range,
transferring the image into the infrared (IR) and making it visible with the
help of standard IR camera. The central element of the device is the THz-to-IR
converter, a Teflon or silicon film matrix with embedded 8.5 nm diameter gold
nanoparticles. The use of external THz source for irradiating the biological
tissue sample is presumed. The converter's temporal characteristics enable its
performance in a real-time scale. The details of design suited for the
operation in transmission mode (in vitro) or on the human skin in reflection
mode {in vivo) are specified.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the FANEM2018 workshop - Minsk,
3-5 June 201
Targeted hepatitis C antibody testing interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Testing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may reduce the risk of liver-related morbidity, by facilitating earlier access to treatment and care. This review investigated the effectiveness of targeted testing interventions on HCV case detection, treatment uptake, and prevention of liver-related morbidity. A literature search identified studies published up to 2013 that compared a targeted HCV testing intervention (targeting individuals or groups at increased risk of HCV) with no targeted intervention, and results were synthesised using meta-analysis. Exposure to a targeted testing intervention, compared to no targeted intervention, was associated with increased cases detected [number of studies (n) = 14; pooled relative risk (RR) 1.7, 95 % CI 1.3, 2.2] and patients commencing therapy (n = 4; RR 3.3, 95 % CI 1.1, 10.0). Practitioner-based interventions increased test uptake and cases detected (n = 12; RR 3.5, 95 % CI 2.5, 4.8; and n = 10; RR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.4, 3.5, respectively), whereas media/information-based interventions were less effective (n = 4; RR 1.5, 95 % CI 0.7, 3.0; and n = 4; RR 1.3, 95 % CI 1.0, 1.6, respectively). This meta-analysis provides for the first time a quantitative assessment of targeted HCV testing interventions, demonstrating that these strategies were effective in diagnosing cases and increasing treatment uptake. Strategies involving practitioner-based interventions yielded the most favourable outcomes. It is recommended that testing should be targeted at and offered to individuals who are part of a population with high HCV prevalence, or who have a history of HCV risk behaviour
Social and Structural Factors Associated with HIV Infection among Female Sex Workers Who Inject Drugs in the Mexico-US Border Region
BACKGROUND: FSWs who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) can acquire HIV through high risk sexual and injection behaviors. We studied correlates of HIV infection among FSW-IDUs in northern Mexico, where sex work is quasi-legal and syringes can be legally obtained without a prescription. METHODS: FSW-IDUs>18 years old who reported injecting drugs and recent unprotected sex with clients in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez underwent surveys and HIV/STI testing. Logistic regression identified correlates of HIV infection. RESULTS: Of 620 FSW-IDUs, prevalence of HIV, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, trichomonas, syphilis titers ≥1:8, or any of these infections was 5.3%, 4%, 13%, 35%, 10% and 72%, respectively. Compared to other FSW-IDUs, HIV-positive women were more likely to: have syphilis titers ≥1:8 (36% vs. 9%, p<0.001), often/always inject drugs with clients (55% vs. 32%, p = 0.01), and experience confiscation of syringes by police (49% vs. 28%, p = 0.02). Factors independently associated with HIV infection were syphilis titers ≥1:8, often/always injecting with clients and police confiscation of syringes. Women who obtained syringes from NEPs (needle exchange programs) within the last month had lower odds of HIV infection associated with active syphilis, but among non-NEP attenders, the odds of HIV infection associated with active syphilis was significantly elevated. CONCLUSIONS: Factors operating in both the micro-social environment (i.e., injecting drugs with clients) and policy environment (i.e., having syringes confiscated by police, attending NEPs) predominated as factors associated with risk of HIV infection, rather than individual-level risk behaviors. Interventions should target unjustified policing practices, clients' risk behaviors and HIV/STI prevention through NEPs
The free moment in walking and its change with foot rotation angle
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens
Identification of HIV-1 Epitopes that Induce the Synthesis of a R5 HIV-1 Suppression Factor by Human CD4+ T Cells Isolated from HIV-1 Immunized Hu-PBL SCID Mice
We have previously reported that immunization of the severe combined
immunodeficiency (SCID) mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood
mononuclear cells (PBMC) (hu-PBL-SCID mice) with inactivated human
immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-pulsed-autologous dendritic cells (HIV-DC)
elicits HIV-1-reactive CD4+ T cells that produce an as yet to be defined novel
soluble factor in vitro with anti-viral properties
against CCR5 tropic (R5) HIV-1
infection. These findings led us to perform studies designed to identify the lineage
of the cell that synthesizes such a factor in vitro and define the epitopes of HIV-1
protein that have specificity for the induction of such anti-viral factor. Results of
our
studies show that this property is a function of CD4+ but not
CD8+ T cells. Human
CD4+ T cells were thus recovered from the HIV-DC-immunized
hu-PBL-SCID mice
and were re-stimulated in vitro by co-culture for 2 days with
autologous adherent
PBMC as antigen presenting cells, APC previously pulsed with inactivated HIV in
IL-2-containing medium to expand HIV-1-reactive CD4+
T cells. Aliquots of these
re-stimulated CD4+ T cells were then co-cultured with
similar APC's that were
previously pulsed with 10 μg/ml of a panel of HIV peptides for
an additional 2 days,
and their culture supernatants were examined for the production of both the R5
HIV-1 suppression factor and IFN-Υ. The data presented herein
show that the HIV-1
primed CD4+ T cells produced the R5 suppression factor in
response to a wide
variety of HIV-1 gag, env, pol, nef or vif peptides, depending on the donor of
the CD4+ T cells. Simultaneous production of human interferon
(IFN)-Υ was
observed in some cases. These results indicate that human
CD4+ T cells in
PBMC of HIV-1 naive donors have a wide variety of HIV-1 epitope-specific
CD4+ T
cell precursors that are capable of producing the R5 HIV-1
suppression factor upon DC-based vaccination with whole inactivated HIV-1
Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn
Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region
Developing longitudinal qualitative designs: lessons learned and recommendations for health services research
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