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Hidden stories of caregivers with children living with sickle cell disease in Uganda: Experiences, coping strategies and outcomes
Background Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) poses a substantial public health challenge in Uganda, exhibiting distinct regional variations in prevalence. The Uganda Sickle Cell Surveillance Study has estimated an overall SCD prevalence of 13.3%. Notably, this prevalence varies significantly across the country’s regions, reaching its highest in the northern region at 22.2% and it’s lowest in the central region at 5.3%. This variation reflects the diverse impact of SCD and underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of its regional implications. SCD places substantial physical, social, and psychological burdens on caregivers, potentially leading to heightened parental stress. However, limited research has focused on the daily challenges and experiences of SCD caregivers, despite evidence showing the detrimental impact on their emotional well-being, personal lives, employability, and socioeconomic status. This study explored the undisclosed struggles of Ugandan caregivers tending to children with SCD, uncovering their coping strategies and subsequent outcomes. Methods In June and July 2023, we conducted in-depth interviews with caregivers at Mulago sickle cell clinic after obtaining their informed consent. An interview guide was used as the primary data collection tool, with interviews lasting 30–45 minutes. Twelve participants were recruited, ensuring comprehensive data collection by following the data saturation principle. We analyzed the collected data using open coding. Results Three key themes emerged: caregiver experiences, coping strategies, and outcomes. Initially, caregivers grappled with confusion and uncertainty before a formal diagnosis. Financial strain and inadequate support posed persistent challenges, affecting their emotional well-being. Coping strategies varied, encompassing traditional remedies and modern medical treatments for symptom relief. Coping outcomes were complex, reflecting caregivers’ resilience alongside substantial emotional distress and sleep disturbances. The substantial financial burden further exacerbated their overall well-being. Conclusion Elevating awareness and knowledge about sickle cell disease within communities is essential. Such awareness can empower caregivers of children living with sickle cell disease, promoting emotional resilience and mitigating family disruptions.
An enzyme/pH dual-responsive supramolecular fluorescent vesicle with tunable size fabricated by europium complex and polypseudorotaxanes
Cloning of the DlERF10 gene from Diospyros lotus L. and cold tolerance analysis of the DlERF10 gene in transgenic tobacco plants
In the north of China, Diospyros plants are vulnerable to low-temperature damage in winter and is considered as a major factor restricting the development of the persimmon industry in Northern China. Diospyros lotus L. is featured by high survival potential of seedlings, cold tolerance, and grafting affinity with D. kaki Thunb. D. lotus has been frequently used as rootstocks for Diospyros spp. ERF transcriptional factors are a subfamily of the AP2/ERF gene family and play an important role in plant growth and stress tolerance. To explore the structure and function of the ERF transcription factors in D. lotus, we performed RT-PCR to clone DlERF10 from the leaves. The DlERF10 gene was 1104 bp long, encoding 367 amino acids. In order to deeply study the cold tolerance of DlERF10 gene, the pBI121-DlERF10 overexpression vector was constructed, and agrobacterium-mediated transformation was carried out to transfer the gene into tobacco plants. The wild-type and transgenic tobacco plants were subjected to low-temperature stress. The results showed that the transgenic plants were less severely damaged by low-temperature stress than the wild-type plants. Besides, the SOD, POD and CAT activities of leaves enhanced, and PRO contents of leaves increased, while the MDA content decreased. It was concluded that the DlERF10 gene increased the activity of protective enzymes in tobacco plants, thereby strengthening the tolerance to low-temperature stress. The present study proposes a candidate gene for engineering cold stress tolerance in Diospyros spp.
Fabrication of a multilayer bioabsorbable composite vascular stent utilizing oxidized starch-Fe3O4 nanoparticles and polycaprolactone nanofibers
Pulmonary function, body posture and balance in young adults with asthma: A cross-sectional study
Asthma may lead to musculoskeletal dysfunction, including postural abnormalities. This study aimed to compare pulmonary function, body posture, and dynamic balance in young adults with childhood-onset asthma and healthy peers. This cross-sectional study included 124 participants evenly split between asthma and healthy groups. Assessments covered pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, postural balance, and body posture. We observed differences between groups in pulmonary function variables and respiratory muscle strength (Forced Expiratory Volume in the First Second (FEV 1); p = 0.005, forced vital capacity (FVC);.p = 0.002, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR); p = 0.03) and respiratory muscle strength (maximal. expiratory pressure (MEP); p = 0.05). There was no difference in postural balance and body posture between groups. Moderate correlations were noted between postural balance (double leg eye closed) and pulmonary function (r = 0.38-0.43; p < 0.001), but not between body posture and pulmonary function. These findings suggest childhood-onset asthma in young adults, particularly mild to moderate cases, is associated with impaired pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength but does not significantly impact postural balance or body posture compared to healthy peers. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05373511
Neuromorphic deviations associated with transcriptomic expression and specific cell type in Alzheimer’s disease
A model for maxilloturbinate morphogenesis in seals
The nasal cavities of mammals contain the maxilloturbinate bones, which are involved in reducing heat and water losses. The maxilloturbinates of Arctic seals develop into particularly elaborate labyrinthine patterns, which are well adapted to retain heat and moisture from exhaled gas. These structures develop prenatally and continue to grow postnatally. The developmental mechanism of labyrinthine patterning is unknown. Here we report a model of maxilloturbinate pattern formation in prenatal and juvenile seals based on a simple algorithmic description and three key parameters: target turbinate porosity, characteristic ossification time scale, and typical gestation time scale. Under a small set of geometrical and physical rules, our model reproduces key features of the patterns observed in the turbinate structure of three seal species. To validate our model, we measure complexity, hydraulic diameter, backbone fractal dimension, and Horton-Strahler statistics for a rigorous quantitative comparison with actual tomograms of grey and harp seal skull specimens. Our model closely replicates the structural development of seal turbinates in these respects. Labyrinthine maxilloturbinate development may depend on the ability for neighbouring bone branches to detect and avoid each other, potentially through the mechanosensing of shear stresses from amniotic fluid and air flow.
Traffic flow prediction based on improved deep extreme learning machine
Auditory and tactile frequency mapping for visual distance perception: A step forward in sensory substitution and augmentation
Vision is crucial for daily tasks and interacting with the environment, but visual impairment can hinder these activities. Many sensory substitution products and studies prioritize providing abundant and accurate information, yet often overlook the inherent relationship between different modalities, potentially preventing users from receiving information intuitively. This study investigated the representation of visual distance using auditory and vibrotactile frequency through a series of psychological cross-modal matching experiments. By establishing mapping functions between auditory/vibrotactile frequency and visual distance, we aim to facilitate the design of sensory substitution devices that take visual distance information (ranging from 1 m to 12 m) and convert it into non-visual information (auditory frequency within the range 47-2764 Hz or vibrotactile frequency within the range 10–99 Hz). Results show distinct patterns regarding the correlation between visual distance and frequency in both auditory (auditory frequency-to-visual distance) and vibrotactile (vibrotactile frequency-to-visual distance) domains. The prevailing trend (59%) was a monotonic negative correlation (i.e. higher frequencies are associated with shorter distances), while 24% of participants demonstrated a consistently positive correlation. Additionally, we compare this study with our previous investigations into the reverse cross-modal mapping of visual distance-to-auditory frequency and visual distance-to-vibrotactile frequency. We reveal common patterns between these two studies (negative and positive correlations), suggesting a bidirectional mapping between visual distance and frequency in both auditory and vibrotactile domains, and the potential for new sensory substitution devices for those with visual impairment by integrating underlying cross-modal mechanisms to enhance intuitive and natural human-machine interaction.
Prediction of open-pit mine truck travel time based on LSTM-TabTransformer
Unsupervised feature selection algorithm based on L 2,p -norm feature reconstruction
Traditional subspace feature selection methods typically rely on a fixed distance to compute residuals between the original and feature reconstruction spaces. However, this approach struggles to adapt to diverse datasets and often fails to handle noise and outliers effectively. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised feature selection method named unsupervised feature selection algorithm based on l2,p-norm feature reconstruction (NFRFS). Employing a flexible norm to represent both the original space and the spatial distance of feature reconstruction, enhances adaptability and broadens its applicability by adjusting p. Additionally, adaptive graph learning is integrated into the feature selection process to preserve the local geometric structure of the data. Features exhibiting sparsity and low redundancy are selected through the regularization constraint of the inner product in the feature selection matrix. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, numerical studies were conducted on 14 benchmark datasets. Our results indicate that the method outperforms 10 unsupervised feature selection algorithms in terms of clustering performance.
Analysis of nationwide adverse event reports on Isoniazid and Rifampin in tuberculosis prevention and treatment in South Korea
Digital inequalities and U.S. undergraduate outcomes over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated major and rapid changes to undergraduate student learning conditions, but the longer-term consequences of those changes have yet to be fully understood. We assess how digital inequality—defined as challenges in accessing or maintaining a broadband internet connection and functional digital devices—affected undergraduates’ advancement toward on-time graduation over the first two years of the pandemic (2020-2022). We utilize survey data from a representative sample of 1,106 undergraduates at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, a public, 4-year university located in New Jersey, USA. Respondents were undergraduates who had been enrolled in full-time student status throughout the first two years of the pandemic. We examine how digital inequality and other sociodemographic factors affected their persistence in full-time student status toward on-time graduation using structural equation modeling. Results show that students with inadequate or inconsistent internet and digital devices developed less remote learning proficiency than their better-connected peers. They were more likely to report having taken incomplete grades in specific courses and/or to have extended their time to graduation. We discuss the implications of these findings for developing digital components to campus emergency planning and for efforts to ensure more equitable learning experiences for undergraduate students in non-emergency periods in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Characterisation and restoration of a severely damaged paper archive from the Qing Dynasty
Preterm delivery in Ghana: challenges and implications for maternal mental health trajectories
Purpose The present study examined mothers’ experiences with preterm infants in Accra, Ghana, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic, existing poverty, and global economic depressions severely challenged access to communal, familial, and individual resources. We argue that, in a family crisis, contextual and external institutional resources, such as access to quality healthcare resources, play crucial roles in mothers’ risk exposure and adaptation. Study design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach with an immersive exploratory-descriptive design, the study interviewed twenty-five (25) mothers whose preterm infants were discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Findings The study showed that mothers of preterm infants experienced varying range of challenges, including diminished appetite, decreased productivity, and feelings of hopelessness, both during and following their infants’ hospitalization. Having access to adequate income, information, medication, and experienced medical practitioners remains critical to the management of stressful situations associated with the care of preterm children. Conclusion for practice Access to funding, preterm information, quality medication, and qualified health professionals can help mothers of preterm infants’ better deal with negative experiences than those who do not have adequate amounts of these resources. Access to critical resources can safeguard mothers’ mental health and the survival of preterm infants within the first year of delivery. A policy on the existing national health insurance scheme can be enacted to expand coverage and absorb the cost of care for the mother and child within the first eighteen months after delivery.
An intelligent framework for skin cancer detection and classification using fusion of Squeeze-Excitation-DenseNet with Metaheuristic-driven ensemble deep learning models
Trading-off health safety, civil liberties, and unemployment based on communication strategies: the social dilemma in fighting pandemics
Crisis management often requires decisions that prioritize the collective good over individual interests. Effective crisis communication strategies can influence individuals’ behavior towards the collective good, preventing negative societal externalities. However, little is known about how these strategies affect individual acceptance of decisions that involve trade-offs between individual and collective interests. We study individual choice behavior regarding maintaining or lifting government-imposed restrictions on private and public life in a referendum setting in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining or lifting the restrictive measures represents a social dilemma that involves trade-offs between civil liberties, health safety, and economic consequences. In three online experiments, we test the impact of communication strategies that focus on health and/or economic factors, as well as risk attribution (i.e. who is at risk by an increase of infections), on individual acceptance of restrictive measures. Results across all experiments show that the majority favors maintaining the COVID-19 measures, indicating that individuals act ethically by trading off individual harm (i.e., restrictions on private and public life) for the prevention of increased societal harm (i.e., infections, deaths). When communication focuses only on health factors, acceptance levels remain robust, regardless of whether the risk is attributed to others, the individual’s group, or the individual. However, when economic factors (i.e., unemployment rates) are included, acceptance of restrictive measures significantly drops. Notably, in an economic-focused communication, attributing risk to the individual’s group increases acceptance such that significantly less individuals vote to lift measures when their group is at higher risk. Overall, these results demonstrate the impact of communication strategies on acceptance of crisis management measures: Our findings have implications for policy makers who design communication strategies to enforce restrictive policies in times of crisis.
Flood vulnerability assessment in the Ili River Basin based on the comprehensive symmetric Kullback–Leibler distance
Assessment of climate change impact on landscape tree distribution and sustainability in South Korea using MaxEnt-based modeling
The rapidly changing climate is impacting species globally at an unprecedented rate, including humans. Consequently, extensive research is being conducted on the impacts of climate change on indigenous and vulnerable species. However, landscape trees, which are cultivated and managed by humans, receive less attention despite their significant role in urban environments. Landscape tree also have specific climatic ranges and environmental requirements, making them susceptible to climate change. In this study, we predicted the future sustainability of three native landscape trees (Stewartia koreana, Betula ermanii, and Taxus cuspidata) using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios. A time-series analysis of suitability was conducted, and the resulting maps were overlaid to classify regions of suitability. The findings indicate a general northward shift in climate suitability and a potential reduction in long-term suitable areas for all three species. Under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, potential suitable area for S. koreana increased, while those for B. ermanii, T. cuspidata decreased by the 2090s. Under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, suitable areas for S. koreana, B. ermanii, T. cuspidata decreased by 33.6%, 98.9%, and 90.1%, respectively. The climate suitability classification (“Sustainable suitability”, “Risk”, “Inflow”, “Lost”, and “Variable” regions) effectively identified areas of sustainability and risk, as well as regions requiring management. A notable decline in “Sustainable suitability” regions, which remained suitable from the present to the 2090s, was observed under the SSP5-8.5 scenario relative to SSP2-4.5. The methods utilized in this study offer valuable insights for future landscape planning and conservation. This research underscores the need for adaptive strategies to mitigate potential economic and ecological impacts of climate change by utilizing species distribution models for sustainable landscape planning and tree conservation.