Prevalence and burden of HBV co-infection among people living with HIV:A global systematic review and meta-analysis

Globally, in 2017 35 million people were living with HIV (PLHIV) and 257 million had chronic HBV infection (HBsAg positive). The extent of HIV-HBsAg co-infection is unknown. We undertook a systematic review to estimate the global burden of HBsAg co-infection in PLHIV. We searched MEDLINE, Embase and other databases for published studies (2002-2018) measuring prevalence of HBsAg among PLHIV. The review was registered with PROSPERO (#CRD42019123388). Populations were categorized by HIV-exposure category. The global burden of co-infection was estimated by applying regional co-infection prevalence estimates to UNAIDS estimates of PLHIV. We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the odds of HBsAg among PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals. We identified 506 estimates (475 studies) of HIV-HBsAg co-infection prevalence from 80/195 (41.0%) countries. Globally, the prevalence of HIV-HBsAg co-infection is 7.6% (IQR 5.6%-12.1%) in PLHIV, or 2.7 million HIV-HBsAg co-infections (IQR 2.0-4.2). The greatest burden (69% of cases; 1.9 million) is in sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, there was little difference in prevalence of HIV-HBsAg co-infection by population group (approximately 6%-7%), but it was slightly higher among people who inject drugs (11.8% IQR 6.0%-16.9%). Odds of HBsAg infection were 1.4 times higher among PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals. There is therefore, a high global burden of HIV-HBsAg co-infection, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Key prevention strategies include infant HBV vaccination, including a timely birth-dose. Findings also highlight the importance of targeting PLHIV, especially high-risk groups for testing, catch-up HBV vaccination and other preventative interventions. The global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for PLHIV using a tenofovir-based ART regimen provides an opportunity to simultaneously treat those with HBV co-infection, and in pregnant women to also reduce mother-to-child transmission of HBV alongside HIV

Effects of maintenance operations on railway track's mechanical behaviour by field load testing

Deterioration of track causes variations in different mechanical parameters such as value and distribution of track vertical stiffness, which would change the way track mechanical components behave in service condition or maintenance operations. As a result, studying deterioration effects and that of maintenance operations such as tamping and dynamic stabilisation on the mechanical behaviour of both standard and deteriorated tracks could give a better picture of track condition and effectiveness of maintenance operations. In this paper, by carrying out static and dynamic tests and using 89 measurement sensors, the influence of mechanised maintenance operations on mechanical behaviours (strain, acceleration and displacement of rail and sleeper) of a high-deteriorated track and a low-deteriorated track is investigated. The tests were carried out in three different stages (before tamping, after tamping and after track dynamic stabilisation) under a passing train (a 6-axle locomotive and a 4-axle wagon) with 20-ton axle load. Observations indicate that track deterioration causes non-uniform track stiffness and load distribution along the track, such that rail heel strain time history under train loading changes from maximum tensional pattern under the wheels to maximum compressive pattern between two wheels of a bogie. Tamping and dynamic stabilisation cause a more uniform load distribution, which reduces strain and increases acceleration in rail and sleeper. Effects of these maintenance operations on sleepers are far more than that of rail. Deteriorated track is stiffer than low-deteriorated track; stiffness distribution is less uniform and its rails are subjected to less strain and acceleration.</p

Screening seven Iranian medicinal plants for protective effects against β-Amyloid-induced cytotoxicity in cultured cerebellar granule neurons

Background and objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a neurodegenerative disorder is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. According to the amyloid hypothesis, accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques, which are mostly constituted of Aβ peptide aggregates, triggers pathological cascades that lead to neuronal cell death. Thus, modulation of Aβ toxicity is the hopeful therapeutic approach for controlling the disease progression. Recently, several studies have indicated promising findings from herbal extracts against Aβ cytotoxicity. The aim of the present study was to assess the protective effect of the methanol extract of seven medicinal plants from Iran on Aβ-induced toxicity in primary neuron culture. Method: The methanol extracts of plants were prepared by maceration method. Primary cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) were taken from male mice at postnatal days 6-7 and cultured in cell culture medium containing 10% FBS and 25 mM KCl. After seven days in vitro (DIV7), the cells were incubated with aggregated Aβ (10 μM) alone or in combination with different concentrations of extracts in the cultured medium for 24 h and cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Results: Our results indicated that Sanguisorba minor, Cerasus microcarpa, Ferulago angulata, Amygdalus scoparia and Rosa canina extracts significantly ameliorated Aβ-induced toxicity which indicated the protective effect of these extracts. Protective effects were not observed for Stachys pilifera and Alhagi pseudalhagi extracts. Conclusion: Based on the protective effects of these plants against Aβ-induced toxicity, we recommend greater attention to their use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

A Numerical Study On Composite Joints Comprising Precast Concrete Slabs And Bolted Shear Connectors

The use of composite decks (concrete slab and steel beam) has been increasing in recent years due to their high structural efficiency. The connection between the concrete slab and the steel beam is usually made by studs that are welded to the steel beam flange. This type of connection should be completely destroyed at the end of the structure life cycle; or, in case of need to repair the connection, it is not possible to reuse it again. Thus, huge waste materials are then produced at the end of project life cycle which leads to a non-friendly condition for the environment. Therefore, it is recommended that bolted shear joints be employed for connecting the concrete slabs to steel beams. Hence, at the end of the structure life, or in case of damage, members can be easily disassembled and reused. In addition, it is proved that the structural performance of this type of joints against static loads is better than welded joints, i.e., their shear capacity is higher. In this study, the structural behavior of bolted shear connectors is investigated. For this purpose, numerical models were modeled using Abaqus software and then, were verified against the test results. Next, an extensive parametric study was performed considering different structural characteristics including reinforcement ratio, thickness and compressive strength of prefabricated concrete slab, strength, and size of bolts. The results show that the type of bolted shear connector and the concrete slab compressive strength are the most important factors affecting the behavior of the bolt shear force-displacement diagram. Also, in all cases, bolt failure was observed as the main failure mode. This study proves that the composite beam with bolted shear connectors can be a reliable alternative for the welded shear connectors currently in use which not only enhance the connection performance but also reduce the waste materials production at the end of the projects

The investigation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) isoforms which express by human prostate cancer cell lines, PC3 and DU145

Background: From Two highly metastatic prostate cancer cell lines, DU145 expresses PTEN gene while PC3 is null for it. PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene whose primary function is lipid phosphatase herewith PTEN antagonizes the PI3K activity. Phosphatidylinositol 3- kinase (PI3K) is involved in modulating basement membrane's protein degradation, angiogenesis and neovascularization making possible cellular migration. There are several articles reporting up-regulation of PI3K gene in different kinds of metastatic cancers. Since despite of bearing functional PTEN, DU145 cell line manifest highly metastatic potential (as well as PC3 cells) it was interesting for us to know if there was any differences in PI3K isoforms expression patterns between these two cell lines. Materials and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from the cells and mRNA content was analyzed (through three different reverse transcriptase enzymes) using RT-PCR method. Results: Unexpectedly data showed both of the cell lines express identical isoforms. Here, as the first report, we introduce P110α catalytic subunit and P85 adapter protein from class IA, PI3K-C2 from class II and Vps34p from class III of PI3K super family as PI3K isoforms which expressed by PC3 and DU145 cells. Conclusions: We propose to search for DU145 metastatic potential in inequality of PI3K isoforms supply. In this regard we are going to quantify each isoform mRNA individually for both PC3 and DU145 cells using Real-Time RT-PCR method