81 research outputs found
Understanding and recommending play relationships in online social gaming
No full textHarvestNetwork Architectures and ServicesData-Intensive System
A phase of liposomes with entangled tubular vesicles
No full textAn equilibrium phase belonging to the family of bilayer liposomes in ternary mixtures of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), water, and geraniol (a biological alcohol derived from oil-soluble vitamins that acts as a cosurfactant) has been identified. Electron and optical microscopy reveal the phase, labeled Ltv, to be composed of highly entangled tubular vesicles. In situ x-ray diffraction confirms that the tubule walls are multilamellar with the lipids in the chain-melted state. Macroscopic observations show that the Ltv phase coexists with the well-known L4 phase of spherical vesicles and a bulk L alpha phase. However, the defining characteristic of the Ltv phase is the Weissenberg rod climbing effect under shear, which results from its polymer-like entangled microstructure
Dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria: A rare case report
No full textDyschromatosis universalis hereditaria is an autosomal dominant disorder but may be recessive or sporadically inherited disorder, infrequently occurring genodermatosis with peculiar pigmentary changes, consisting of varying sized, intermingled hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules that give an overall impression of mottling. Herein, we report this extremely rare case of dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria in a young male with a family history of the same disorder in his younger brother
Viral Hepatitis and Rapid Diagnostic Test Based Screening for HBsAg in HIV-infected Patients in Rural Tanzania.
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Co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is highly prevalent in people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. Screening for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) before initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is recommended. However, it is not part of diagnostic routines in HIV programs in many resource-limited countries although patients could benefit from optimized antiretroviral therapy covering both infections. Screening could be facilitated by rapid diagnostic tests for HBsAg. Operating experience with these point of care devices in HIV-positive patients in Sub-Saharan Africa is largely lacking. We determined the prevalence of HBV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as well as the diagnostic accuracy of the rapid test device Determine HBsAg in an HIV cohort in rural Tanzania. Prospectively collected blood samples from adult, HIV-1 positive and antiretroviral treatment-naïve patients in the Kilombero and Ulanga antiretroviral cohort (KIULARCO) in rural Tanzania were analyzed at the point of care with Determine HBsAg, a reference HBsAg EIA and an anti-HCV EIA. Samples of 272 patients were included. Median age was 38 years (interquartile range [IQR] 32-47), 169/272 (63%) subjects were females and median CD4+ count was 250 cells/µL (IQR 97-439). HBsAg was detected in 25/272 (9.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.2-13.0%) subjects. Of these, 7/25 (28%) were positive for HBeAg. Sensitivity of Determine HBsAg was rated at 96% (95% CI 82.8-99.6%) and specificity at 100% (95% CI, 98.9-100%). Antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) were found in 10/272 (3.7%, 95% CI 2.0-6.4%) of patients. This study reports a high prevalence of HBV in HIV-positive patients in a rural Tanzanian setting. The rapid diagnostic test Determine HBsAg is an accurate assay for screening for HBsAg in HIV-1 infected patients at the point of care and may further help to guide cART in Sub-Saharan Africa
Structure and dynamics of a thermoresponsive microgel around Its volume phase transition temperature
No full textSustained drug delivery requires the use of multifunctional devices with enhanced properties. These properties include responsiveness to external stimuli (such as temperature, pH, ionic strength), ability to deliver suitably designed ligands to specific receptors, enhanced bioadhesion to cells, and cytocompatibility. Microgels represent one of such multifunctional drug delivery devices. Recently, we described the fabrication of a stable colloidal aqueous suspension of cytocompatible microgel spheres based on a poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(methacrylate-co-N-isopropylacrylamide) network ( Ghugare, S. Mozetic, P. Paradossi, G. Biomacromolecules 2009 , 10 , 1589 ). These microgel spheres undergo an entropy-driven volume phase transition around the physiological temperature, this phase transition being driven by the incorporation of NiPAAm residues in the network. In that study, the microgel was loaded with the anticancer drug doxorubicin. As the microgel shrank, a marked increase in the amount of doxorubicin released was noted. Indeed, dynamic light scattering measurements showed the diameter reduction to be about 50%. In the present paper, we focus on some fundamental issues regarding modifications of the hydrogel architecture at a nanoscopic level as well as of the diffusive behavior of water associated with the polymer network around the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT). Sieving and size exclusion effects were studied by laser scanning confocal microscopy with the microgel exposed to fluorescent probes with different molecular weights. Confocal microscopy observations at room temperature and at 40 degrees C (i.e., below and above the VPTT) provided an evaluation of the variation of the average pore size (from 5 nm to less than 3 nm). Using quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) with the IRIS spectrometer at ISIS, UK, the diffusive behavior of water molecules closely associated to the polymer network around the VPTT was investigated. A clear change in the values of diffusion coefficient of bound water was observed at the transition temperature. In addition, the local dynamics of the polymer itself was probed using the QENS spectrometer SPHERES at FRM II, Germany. For this study, the microgel was swollen in D(2)O. An average characteristic distance of about 5 A for the localized chain motions was evaluated from the elastic incoherent structure factor (EISF) and from the Q-dependence of the Lorentzian width
The trade-off between accuracy and accessibility of syphilis screening assays.
No full textThe availability of rapid and sensitive methods to diagnose syphilis facilitates screening of pregnant women, which is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. We have evaluated two screening methods in Tanzania: an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and a point-of-care test (POCT). We evaluated the performance of each test against the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA) as the reference method, and the accessibility of testing in a rural district of Tanzania. The POCT was performed in the clinic on whole blood, while the other assays were performed on plasma in the laboratory. Samples were also tested by the rapid plasma Reagin (RPR) test. With TPPA as reference assay, the sensitivity and specificity of EIA were 95.3% and 97.8%, and of the POCT were 59.6% and 99.4% respectively. The sensitivity of the POCT and EIA for active syphilis cases (TPPA positive and RPR titer ≥ 1/8) were 82% and 100% respectively. Only 15% of antenatal clinic attenders in this district visited a health facility with a laboratory capable of performing the EIA. Although it is less sensitive than EIA, its greater accessibility, and the fact that treatment can be given on the same day, means that the use of POCT would result in a higher proportion of women with syphilis receiving treatment than with the EIA in this district of Tanzania
Effects of Iron Deficiency on Cognitive Function in School Going Adolescent Females in Rural Area of Central India
No full textGeochemistry and petrogenesis of amphibolites, Kolar Schist Belt, South India: evidence for komatiitic magma derived by low percentages of melting of the mantle
No full textThe Kolar Schist Belt of the Dharwar Craton of South India is an Archean greenstone belt dominated by
metavolcanic rocks. The mafic metavolcanic rocks occur as komatiitic and tholeiitic amphibolites. The komatiitic
amphibolites occur along the margins of the N-S trending, synformal belt. They are much less abundant than the
tholeiitic amphibolites and have 14 to 21-3 wt. per cent MgO. The komatiitic amphibolites from the west/central part
of the belt have two distinctive REE patterns: (1) those enriched in the middle to light REE but depleted in Ce
relative to Nd; and (2) those with patterns that are convex up, i.e. depleted in both light and heavy REE, although
more depleted in the light REE. Associated tholeiites have light REE depleted to flat REE patterns. Komatiitic and
tholeiitic amphibolites from the eastern part of the belt have enriched light REE patterns. The tholeiitic
amphibolites from the Kolar Schist Belt are similar to the TH I and TH II types of Archean tholeiites of Condie
(1981). The komatiitic amphibolites are similar to komatiites and komatiitic basalts of Barberton Mountainland, but
have higher FeO and TiO2 abundances and lower Yb/Gd ratios. The petrogenetic interpretations for these
rocks are based primarily on a modification of the MgO-FeO diagram of Hanson & Langmuir (1978), and modelling of
Zr, Ni and REE. All of the rocks have undergone some fractionation. While the modelling does not give accurate
temperatures, pressures, compositions and extents of melting of the mantle sources for the various amphibolites, it
does present an approach which can be used for estimating these parameters. For example, the komatiitic amphibolites
appear to be derived from melts generated by 10 to 25 per cent melting of the mantle over a range of depths and
temperatures greater than 80 km and 1575°C. The variation in the P-T conditions of magma generation is possibly
due to adiabatic melting in mantle diapirs with a range of FeO/MgO ratios. If the tholeiitic amphibolites are
derived from similar mantle sources (it is not clear that they are), their parent melts may have been generated by
similar extents of melting, but at depths of less than 80 km. The komatiitic amphibolites from the west central part
of the belt were generated from light REE depleted mantle, whereas those from the eastern part of the belt appear to
have been generated from light REE enriched mantle. The sources for the komatiitic amphibolites in both areas were
significantly enriched in FeO relative to pyrolite. Thus, a light REE depleted and a light REE enriched source
appear to have provided mafic volcanics with similar major element chemistry to this belt during its
evolution
Eosinophilic panniculitis in a female child: An unusual presentation
No full textEosinophilic panniculitis (EP) is characterized by prominent infiltration of subcutaneous fat with eosinophils. The etiology is diverse. This is not a disease but represents a reaction pattern that may occur in a variety of circumstances. The exact pathogenesis of the disease is still unclear. We present the case of a 6-year-old girl child who was diagnosed with EP
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