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Genome-wide mapping of the RNA targets of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa riboregulatory protein RsmN
No full textPseudomonads typically carrymultiple non-identical alleles of the post-transcriptional regulator rsmA. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, RsmN is notable in that its structural rearrangement confers distinct and overlapping functions with RsmA. However, little is known about the specificities of RsmN for its target RNAs and overall impact on the biology of this pathogen. We purified and mapped 503 transcripts directly bound by RsmN in P. aeruginosa. About 200 of the mRNAs identified encode proteins of demonstrated function including some determining acute and chronic virulence traits. For example, RsmN reduces biofilm development both directly and indirectly via multiple pathways, involving control of Pel exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and c-di-GMP levels. The RsmN targets identified are also shared with RsmA, although deletion of rsmN generally results in less pronounced phenotypes than those observed for ΔrsmA or ΔrsmArsmNind mutants, probably as a consequence of different binding affinities. Targets newly identified for the Rsm system include the small non-coding RNA CrcZ involved in carbon catabolite repression, for which differential binding of RsmN and RsmA to specific CrcZ regions is demonstrated. The results presented here provide new insights into the intricacy of riboregulatory networks involving multiple but distinct RsmA homologues
Factors Associated with HIV Viral Suppression Among Transgender Women in Lima, Peru
No full textPurpose: Globally, transgender women (TGW) experience a high burden of adverse health outcomes, including a high prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as well as psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders. To address gaps in HIV research in Peru focused specifically on TGW, this study presents characteristics of a sample of HIV-positive TGW and identifies factors associated with viral suppression. Methods: Between June 2015 and August 2016, 50 HIV-positive TGW were recruited in Lima, Peru. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with viral suppression (<200 copies/mL) among the TGW. Results: Among TGW, 85% achieved viral suppression. Approximately half (54%) reported anal sex with more than five partners in the past 6 months, 38% reported sex work, 68% had not disclosed their HIV status to one or more of their partners, and 38% reported condomless sex with their last partner. The prevalence of alcohol use disorders was high (54%), and 38% reported use of drugs in the past year. Moderate-to-severe drug use significantly reduced odds of achieving viral suppression (adjusted odds ratio 0.69; 95% confidence interval: 0.48-0.98). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for integrated treatment for substance disorders in HIV care to increase the viral suppression rate among TGW in Lima, Peru
Dosimetric characterisation of the optically-stimulated luminescence dosimeter in cobalt-60 high dose rate brachytherapy system
No full textThis study investigates the characteristics and application of the optically-stimulated luminescence dosimeter (OSLD) in cobalt-60 high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and compares the results with the dosage produced by the treatment planning system (TPS). The OSLD characteristics comprised linearity, reproducibility, angular dependence, depth dependence, signal depletion, bleaching rate and cumulative dose measurement. A phantom verification exercise was also conducted using the Farmer ionisation chamber and in vivo diodes. The OSLD signal indicated a supralinear response (R2 = 0.9998). It exhibited a depth-independent trend after a steep dose gradient region. The signal depletion per readout was negligible (0.02%), with expected deviation for angular dependence due to off-axis sensitive volume, ranging from 1 to 16%. The residual signal of the OSLDs after 1 day bleached was within 1.5%. The accumulated and bleached OSLD signals had a standard deviation of ± 0.78 and ± 0.18 Gy, respectively. The TPS was found to underestimate the measured doses with deviations of 5% in OSLD, 17% in the Farmer ionisation chamber, and 7 and 8% for bladder and rectal diode probes. Discrepancies can be due to the positional uncertainty in the high-dose gradient. This demonstrates a slight displacement of the organ at risk near the steep dose gradient region will result in a large dose uncertainty. This justifies the importance of in vivo measurements in cobalt-60 HDR brachytherapy
A randomized controlled trial for effectiveness of zolpidem versus acupressure on sleep in hemodialysis patients having chronic kidney disease–associated pruritus
No full textBACKGROUND: Pruritus adds to the complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient and a well-recognized complication among the CKD patients. Majority of the patients on hemodialysis experience a generalized pruritus and patients reported being moderately to extremely disturbed by at least one of the sleep-related condition. This study aim to investigate the effectiveness of zolpidem 10 mg and acupressure therapy on foot acupoints to improve the sleep quality and overall quality of life among hemodialysis patients suffering from CKD-associated pruritus.
METHODS: A multicentered, open-label, parallel group, prospective randomized controlled trial among patients suffering from CKD-associated pruritus with sleep disturbance, after randomization into control, and intervention group to be held at North West General Hospital and Research Center Peshawar, Pakistan and Institute of Kidney Diseases Peshawar, Pakistan.
RESULTS: The primary outcome is to investigate the effectiveness of zolpidem 10 mg and acupressure therapy on foot acupoints to improve the sleep quality and overall quality of life among hemodialysis patients suffering from CKD-associated pruritus. After baseline assessment by Urdu version of 5D itch scale and Urdu version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Urdu EQ-5D 3L, the intervention group will be given zolpidem 10 mg oral tablets and control group with acupressure on both foots on KI-1 acupoints for total of 6 minutes. Assessment will be done at weeks 4 and 8 from baseline by using Urdu version of 5D itch scale and Urdu version of PSQI and Urdu EQ-5D 3L, whereas safety profiling of zolpidem 10 mg tablet at week 6 from baseline and acupressure acceptability at week 6 from baseline. Analysis of covariance will be used to examine the differences in treatment effects between the intervention and control groups.
CONCLUSION: Improvement of sleep quality and quality of life among patients with CKD-associated pruritus requires great importance. This study aims to improve the quality of sleep and quality of life among patients with hemodialysis suffering from CKD-associated pruritus
Characterization of fungi from Palm kernel cake (PKC) and the effect of storage temperature on fungi growth
No full textThe widespread contamination of animal feed with mycotoxin is not a new issue worldwide. Apart from economic loss, mycotoxin can have adverse health effects on humans due to the carcinogenicity, teratogenicity and mutagenicity potential of the toxins. Palm kernel cake (PKC) is the largest animal feed production in Malaysia. PKC is a by-product of palm kernel oil processing and it has been exported as animal feed. The purpose of this study was to isolate and characterise toxigenic fungi cultured in three different media, Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) Agar, Dichloran 18% Glycerol (DG18) Agar and Malt Extract Agar (MEA), derived from PKC that is stored under three different temperatures, 4°C, 25°C and 60°C. Identification of fungi was carried out based on macroscopy and microscopy as well as molecular identification. Four mycotoxigenic fungi were found: Aspergillus Niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicilium citrinum. In order to characterise polymorphism of the isolates, RAPD assay was performed using OPA 3 as the primer. The software resulted in a constructed dendrogram that revealed the percentage of similarities between the typable isolates (A. fumigatus, A. Niger and P. citrinum) within range from 20% to 80%. The effect of storage temperature on the strains' enumeration is reported in this work. The distributing strains are influenced by the storage temperature of the PKC matrices. The findings clearly show that Aspergillus species profused at 25°C PKC storage, while it was restricted at low and high temperature
Cost utility, budget impact, and scenario analysis of racecadotril in addition to oral rehydration for acute diarrhea in children in Malaysia
No full textObjective: To perform cost utility (CU) and budget impact (BI) analyses augmented by scenario analyses of critical model structure components to evaluate racecadotril as adjuvant to oral rehydration solution (ORS) for children under 5 years with acute diarrhea in Malaysia. Methods: A CU model was adapted to evaluate racecadotril plus ORS vs ORS alone for acute diarrhea in children younger than 5 years from a Malaysian public payer’s perspective. A bespoke BI analysis was undertaken in addition to detailed scenario analyses with respect to critical model structure components. Results: According to the CU model, the intervention is less costly and more effective than comparator for the base case with a dominant incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of –RM 1,272,833/quality-adjusted life year (USD –312,726/quality-adjusted life year) in favor of the intervention. According to the BI analysis (assuming an increase of 5% market share per year for racecadotril+ORS for 5 years), the total cumulative incremental percentage reduction in health care expenditure for diarrhea in children is 0.136578%, resulting in a total potential cumulative cost savings of –RM 73,193,603 (USD –17,983,595) over a 5-year period. Results hold true across a range of plausible scenarios focused on critical model components. Conclusion: Adjuvant racecadotril vs ORS alone is potentially cost-effective from a Malaysian public payer perspective subject to the assumptions and limitations of the model. BI analysis shows that this translates into potential cost savings for the Malaysian public health care system. Results hold true at evidence-based base case values and over a range of alternate scenarios
Stability Analysis of Fuzzy Genetic Regulatory Networks with Various Time Delays
No full textThe synthetic genetic regulatory networks (GRNs) prove to be a powerful tool in studying gene regulation processes in living organisms. In order to take vagueness into consideration, fuzzy theory is incorporated in the GRNs and we found a novel system, namely fuzzy genetic regulatory networks (FGRNs). By applying the Homeomorphism theorem, we demonstrated an existence, uniqueness, and asymptotic stability analysis of the equilibrium point of FGRNs with time delay in the leakage term and unbounded distributed delays. By utilizing Lyapunov functional method and the linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques, some new and useful criteria of the FGRNs with respect to the equilibrium point are derived. The derived criteria are of the form of LMI, and hence they can be verified easily. Finally, illustrative example with simulations are demonstrated to prove the effectiveness of the proposed results
Influence of nano-sized fumed silica on physicochemical and electrochemical properties of cellulose derivatives-ionic liquid biopolymer electrolytes
No full textNanocomposite biopolymer electrolyte was prepared by solution-casting technique. Carboxymethyl cellulose from kenaf bast fibre, ammonium acetate, (1-butyl)trimethyl ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid and silica nanofiller was used to prepare the biopolymer electrolyte samples. The films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transference number measurement and linear sweep voltammetry. The interactions of doping salt, ionic liquid and inorganic nanofiller with the host biopolymer were confirmed by FTIR study. The highest conductivity achieved was 8.63 × 10−3 S cm−1 by the incorporation of 1 wt% of SiO2 at ambient temperature. The electrochemical stability of the highest conducting sample was stable up to 3.4 V, and the ion transference number in the film was 0.99
Growth of Si-based core–shell nanowires through gases decomposition reactions with tunable morphologies, compositions, and electrochemical properties
No full textSi-based core–shell nanowires grown on Ni-coated c-Si, glass and Ni foil substrates by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition were extensively investigated. The nanowires, which included NiSi nanowires, NiSi/Si core–shell nanowires, and NiSi/SiC core–shell nanowires, were grown by varying the Tfs from 1150 to 1950 °C. It was found that the morphologies of these nanowires were strongly dependent on the Tf attributed to the different decomposition reactions of SiH4 and CH4 molecules in the range of Tf. The hydrogen-assisted heat transfer effect induced the growth of the single-crystalline NiSi core, the polycrystalline Si, and amorphous SiC shells at Tf within the 1450–1650 and 1650–1950 °C ranges, respectively. The NiSi/Si core–shell nanowires demonstrated a relatively better electrochemical performance compared to the NiSi/SiC core–shell and NiSi nanowires with the specific capacity of 326 mF/cm2. The NiSi/Si core–shell nanowires exhibited good electrochemical stability at high current density with 61% capacity retention after 2000 cycles. The nucleation limited silicide reactions of the Si-based core–shell nanowires and the effects of the gas-phase reactions on the growth of the nanowires are discussed
“Pre-emptive strike”-the case for early treatment of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome with defibrotide
No full textThe initial signs of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) can be challenging to recognize in children, especially outside the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation setting. To assist clinicians to promptly identify HSOS, the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation has proposed pediatric HSOS diagnostic criteria which emphasize unexplained consumptive and transfusion-refractory thrombocytopenia. To highlight the importance of these “bellwether” early signs of HSOS and the efficacy of pre-emptive treatment with defibrotide, we describe the case of a child with a right 11th rib primitive neuroectodermal tumor who developed HSOS following focal radiotherapy and actinomycin-D treatment