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Sex differences in the risk profiles for anemia in people living with HIV, A cross sectional study
Background Anemia in people living with HIV (PLWH) significantly impacts quality of life and health outcomes. This study aimed to determine sex differences in factors associated with anemia in PLWH at Livingstone University Teaching Hospital, Zambia. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 631 PLWH aged 18 years or older who had been on combinational ART for at least 6 months. Data was collected via standardized questionnaires and medical records. Anemia was defined as haemoglobin levels < 13 g/dL for men and < 12 g/dL for women, based on WHO criteria. Logistic regression models assessed the associated factors, stratified by sex. Results Participants had a median age of 44 years, with a female preponderance of 64.2%. The overall prevalence of anemia was 36%, significantly higher in females (41.1%) compared to males (27.2%) (p < 0.001). In females, waist circumference (AOR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95-0.99, P = 0.018), albumin levels (AOR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99, P = 0.047), NNRTI regimens (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI: 1.34-5.78, P = 0.006), microcytosis (AOR = 3.18, 95% CI: 1.26-8.03, P = 0.014), and hypertension (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.13-0.87, P = 0.024) were linked to anemia in adjusted analysis but these associations were abrogated by male sex. Conclusions We found a 36% prevalence of anemia among PLWH, with a higher prevalence in females (41%) compared to males (27%), including severe forms of anemia. Among females, anemia was linked to lower waist circumference, lower albumin levels, NNRTI regimens, microcytosis, and blood pressure but not males. Further studies are warranted.
Linear attention based spatiotemporal multi graph GCN for traffic flow prediction
Phenotypic plasticity of bread wheat contributes to yield reliability under heat and drought stress
Yield reliability under diverse environments is important to address climate stress consequences in wheat production systems. Breeding for reliability under a changing climate remains a challenge in wheat. We assessed the performance of 18 hexaploid (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes in three field environments at a location within the semi-arid Canadian Prairies over four years with a primary aim to establish knowledge of the phenotypic plasticity and yield reliability in the parental lines as it relates to heat and drought stress tolerance. We collected data on various physiological traits along with some agronomic and morphological attributes, uncovering significant variation across early seeded rainfed, early seeded irrigated, and late seeded rainfed (hot and dry) environments. Eight high yielding hexaploid genotypes ‘01S0263-28’, ‘AC Foremost’, AC Karma’, ‘Cutler’, ‘MN03358-4’, ‘Reeder’, ‘Stettler’, and ‘Superb’ showed higher grain Δ13C. Six of these genotypes ‘01S0263-28’, ‘AC Foremost’, ‘MN03358-4’, ‘Reeder’, ‘Stettler’, and ‘Superb’ showed higher water use efficiency under irrigated as well as hot and dry environment compared to the low yielding lines ‘Red Fife’,’8021-V2’ and ‘BW278’. Only four genotypes ‘01S0263-28’, ‘MN03358-4’, ‘Reeder’, and ‘Stettler’ were found with higher yield reliability index. The grain yield relationship with leaf rolling, glaucousness, and canopy temperature was found to be weak. The flag leaf stomatal numbers increased with water stress in high yielding lines which were otherwise low in stomatal numbers. Contrastingly, water stress significantly reduced the stomatal numbers in low yielding lines that were otherwise high in stomatal numbers. The results highlight the stomatal adaptability of different genotypes in response to drought. Taken together, these results provide baseline information that the genotypes with high grain Δ13C and WUE, and low stomata numbers are more yield reliable under variable field environments, and this information can guide the breeding of climate-resilient germplasm that expresses consistent and reliable grain yield production in the semi-arid Prairies.
Reactive co-sputter deposition of Ta-doped tungsten oxide thin films for water splitting application
Developing a competency assessment framework for pharmacists in primary health care settings in India
Background Competency frameworks in the pharmacy profession define the necessary practice standards and establish benchmarks for work accountability and career progression. Pharmacists are integral to primary healthcare, and assessing their competencies is essential for improving the performance of primary healthcare services. Although several countries have developed competency frameworks for pharmacists in primary healthcare, such frameworks are currently lacking in India. Methods This study aimed to develop a competency assessment framework for in-service pharmacists in Indian public primary healthcare settings. For which, a five-stage consultative process was followed. In the first stage, the systematic literature review was conducted to identify pharmacist competencies in the primary healthcare setting. After that, an expert consultation was organized to develop consensus among experts on competencies and its behaviours. Competency assessment tools were then developed based on the literature and later finalized through experts’ agreements during consultation. Finally, the tools were tested in one of the public primary healthcare facilities. Results In stage one, the systematic literature review identified 20 competencies and 175 associated behaviors distributed across four domains: Pharmaceutical Health, Pharmaceutical Care, Organization and Management, and Professional/Personal. Expert consultations resulted in the consensus on 11 roles as domains of pharmacists in Indian primary healthcare settings during stage 2. During the expert consultation, each one of 11 pharmacist’s role and competencies and behaviours was discussed and consensus was arrived on 26 competencies and 107 behaviours. For which, under the role of pharmacy management, one of the critical competency for primary health care pharmacist is the knowledge about the layout and infrastructure of the pharmacy/store and how to adapt it to optimize pharmacy services. For this competency, one of the behaviour is assessment of the existing infrastructure and identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. After that in stage 3, a competency assessment tool was developed, and consensus was made on it in stage 4 during expert consultation. The developed tool contains instruments such as a questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitude, and observational checklist, mini-clinical exercises for specific conditions, and simulation exercises to assess skills. Conclusions This study successfully developed a competency assessment framework for in-service pharmacists in Indian public primary healthcare settings. The framework encompasses 24 competencies and associated behaviors, covering 11 roles of pharmacists in Indian primary healthcare settings. For example, under the pharmacy management role, some of the competencies include planning and procurement, inventory management, storage conditions, digital literacy to handle supply chain-led IT Systems, NSQ Medical Products Management, etc. The developed competency assessment tool assessing knowledge, attitude and skills provides a comprehensive framework for assessing pharmacist competencies and identifying competency gaps. The framework can be used to capacitate pharmacists and improve their performance. It improves their performance in primary healthcare settings, and enhance the delivery of healthcare services in India. Additionally, it fills a critical gap in the existing literature and can serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, educators, and healthcare professionals involved in pharmacy practice in primary care settings.
Photogrammetric assessment of quagga mussel growth shows no winter cessation in lake Geneva
Change in address in electronic health records as an early marker of homelessness
Introduction Housing stability is a key health determinant and there is a need for early screening for instability with existing electronic health record (EHR) data to improve health outcomes. We aim to establish recorded address changes as a screening variable for housing instability and homelessness and to attempt to define the threshold of high churn. Methods Our study is a single-center cross-sectional study of EHR data (2018-2024) conducted at a US academic center with eleven sites across Chicago. We include patients 18 years or older with at least three hospital encounters over three different years. We define address churn as the number of address changes recorded in the EHR corrected to three-year intervals. We compare demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with varying address churn with the student T-test to look at distribution of address churn for patients with and without record of homelessness, ANOVA to evaluate the distribution of ages for different levels of churn, and the chi-square test to evaluate for association between churn and clinical diagnoses. We perform multivariable logistic regression to measure the association between people with a record of homelessness and address changes. Results The study includes 1,068,311 patients with 756,222 having zero address changes, 156,911 having one address change, 137,491 with two address changes, 9,558 with three address changes, and 8,129 with four or more address changes. People with no record of homelessness in the EHR have mean address changes of 0.6 (SD 0.7) whereas people with record of homelessness have mean address changes of 1.8 (SD 1.3). Diagnostic profiles of the varying address change groups show increased prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses (65.2% in the 4 or more-address change group) compared to lower address change (27.7% in the 0-address change group). Address churn is significantly associated with homelessness with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.44 (95% CI = [1.42-1.47], P < 0.001). Conclusion Our results support a role for residential address churn in screening for housing instability in healthcare systems and reinforce the association between psychiatric disorders and housing instability. Our findings can help public health policy makers in targeting vulnerable populations at risk of homelessness with multiple health comorbidities for housing interventions.
A mixed D-S combination rule based on the induced ordered weighted averaging operator and adaptive weighting
Effect of Nordic walking on walking ability in patients with peripheral arterial disease: a meta-analysis
Background Evaluating the effectiveness of Nordic walking in influencing walking ability in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Methods We searched 12 databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, EBSCO host, Ovid, Scopus, ClinicalTrial.gov, and several top ranked Chinese databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, CBMdisc, VIP Database, ChiCTR. The search has no starting time limit and the deadline is April 9, 2024. Randomized controlled trials and pseudo-random controlled trials were included. The two authors independently screened the literature and evaluated the quality of the study using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 17.0 software. Results A total of 8 studies involving 508 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that compared with supervised exercise therapy (SET), supervised NW was not associated with an increase in maximum walking distance (MWD) and claudication distance (CD) in PAD patients, whether during treadmill tests or 6-minute walk tests (6-MWT), and the results were not statistically significant. In terms of increasing exercise duration, SET was significantly higher than supervised NW and the results were statistically significant (SMD = -0.41, 95% Cl: -0.72 to -0.09, Z = 2.54, P = 0.01 < 0.05). Among the 8 studies included, 2 studies had control groups that were not part of the supervised exercise program and were different, therefore no meta-analysis was conducted. Conclusions In PAD patients, supervised NW is no significant difference in walking ability compared to SET. NW presents a viable option when SET is not available. PROSPERO registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42024535828
Key insights into recommended SMS spam detection datasets
Inbred rat heredity and sex affect oral oxycodone self-administration and augmented intake in long sessions: correlations with anxiety and novelty-seeking
Oxycodone abuse frequently begins with prescription oral oxycodone, yet vulnerability factors (e.g. sex, genetics) determining abuse are largely undefined. We evaluated genetic vulnerability in a rat model of oral oxycodone self-administration (SA): increasing oxycodone concentration/session (0.025-0.1mg/ml; 1-, 4-, and 16-h) followed by extinction and reinstatement. Active licks and oxycodone intake were greater in females than males during 4-h and 16-h sessions (p < 0.001). Both sexes increased intake between 4-h and 16-h sessions (p < 2e-16), but a subset of strains augmented intake at 16-h (p = 0.0005). Heritability ( h 2 ) of active licks during 4-h sessions at increasing oxycodone dose ranged from 0.30 to 0.53. Under a progressive ratio (PR) schedule, breakpoints were strain-dependent (p < 2e-16). Cued reinstatement was greater in females (p < 0.001). Naive rats were assessed using elevated plus maze (EPM), open field (OF), and novel object interaction (NOI) tests. We correlated these behaviors with 28 parameters of oxycodone SA. Anxiety-defining EPM traits were most associated with SA in both sexes, whereas OF and NOI traits were more associated with SA in males. Sex and heredity are major determinants of motivation to take and seek oxycodone; intake augments dramatically during extended access in specific strains; and anxiety correlates with multiple SA parameters across strains.
Enhancing cybersecurity through script development using machine and deep learning for advanced threat mitigation
Development of a multi-epitope vaccine against Acinetobacter baumannii: A comprehensive approach to combating antimicrobial resistance
Background The World Health Organization has categorized Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) as a critical priority pathogen due to its high antibiotic resistance. This resistance complicates treatment and underscores the urgent need for new antibiotics and strategies. This study developed a multi-epitope vaccine (MEV) to address this significant public health threat. Methods This study employed a computational approach to design MEV targeting A. baumannii strain VB7036. Surface-exposed proteins were identified using PSORTb and TMHMM, followed by antigenicity and allergenicity predictions using VaxiJen and AlgPred. Linear B-cell epitopes and MHC-II binding sites were predicted using BepiPred and TepiTool, while physicochemical properties were analyzed with ExPASy ProtParam and Protein-Sol. The MEV construct was validated through molecular docking with TLR2 and TLR4 using HDOCK, revealing strong binding interactions. Molecular dynamic simulations confirmed the stability of the vaccine-receptor complexes, while PCA analysis indicated minimal conformational transitions. Immune simulations were conducted using C-ImmSim online software. Results This study identified eight OMPs from A. baumannii strain VB7036 as potential immunogenic targets. MEV was designed using five critical B-cell epitopes from four proteins based on their antigenicity, non-allergenicity, and physicochemical properties. This MEV demonstrated strong binding to TLR2 and TLR4, indicating effective immune activation. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the structural stability of the MEV-TLR complexes. In silico immune simulations revealed that the MEV induced robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, including increased antibody production, T-cell activation, and cytokine release, suggesting the MEV’s potential as an effective vaccine candidate for A. baumannii. Conclusion This study developed an optimized MEV and identified novel drug targets against A. baumannii, providing broad protection against multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains. MEV demonstrated significant potential due to its favorable physicochemical properties, as confirmed by molecular docking and dynamic simulations. However, more in vitro and in vivo studies are required to verify the drug’s effectiveness.
Comparison of usability and user-friendliness of three FeNO analyzers in a general population cohort of the LEAD study
Reciprocal regulation between Acinetobacter baumannii and Enterobacter cloacae AdeR homologs: implications for antimicrobial resistance and pathogenesis
Acinetobacter baumannii and Enterobacter cloacae are phylogenetically distant Gram−negative bacterial pathogens that represent significant challenges in healthcare settings due to their remarkable ability to acquire antimicrobial resistance. This study investigates one of the most important efflux pump systems in A. baumannii, AdeABC−AdeRS, and identifies homologous components in E. cloacae. By constructing isogenic knockout mutants, we show that the AdeB pump component and the AdeR regulator are significant for antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity in A. baumannii. Through in silico predictions, we identify homologs of AdeB and AdeR (ECL_01758 and ECL_01761, respectively) in E. cloacae. Notably, we demonstrate that while the inactivation of the E. cloacae gene encoding the AdeB protein does not impact on pathogenesis and only alters colistin susceptibility, a knockout mutant of the gene encoding the AdeR regulator significantly affects susceptibility to various antimicrobial classes, motility, and virulence. Additionally, we demonstrate that the AdeR regulators of A. baumannii and E. cloacae can functionally substitute for each other both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays reveal that these regulators are capable of binding to the promoter regions of each other’s species, where similar DNA motifs are present. Furthermore, cross−complementation tests show that the affected phenotypes in each species can be restored interchangeably. Moreover, phylogenomic analysis of previously published E.cloacae genomes and reconstructrion of ancestral states through the phylogenetic trees of the adeB and adeR genes suggest that these homologs are more likely derived from a common ancestor rather than through recent horizontal gene transfer. The findings of this work highlight that conserved regulatory functions concerning efflux pump expression can be maintained across species despite evolutionary divergence and open new perspectives for the control of bacterial infections.
Author Correction: Insights from serial cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging show early progress in diastolic dysfunction relates to impaired right ventricular deformation
Correction: (−)-Epicatechin regulates endoplasmic reticulum stress and promotes ferroptosis in lung cancer cells via the PERK/eIF2α/ATF4 signaling pathway
Adaptive calibration of Gafchromic EBT3 film using generalized additive neural networks
Factors associated with uptake of human papilloma virus vaccine among adolescent girls: A cross sectional survey on insights into HPV Infection Prevention in Kabarole District, Western Uganda
Background Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection imposes a substantial global disease burden and represents a critical public health concern. The persistently low uptake of HPV vaccination poses a significant obstacle to reducing cervical cancer incidence, particularly in remote rural areas of developing nations. Objective This study aims to assess the extent of Human papilloma virus vaccine coverage among adolescents and explore the associated determinants to facilitate enhanced planning strategies within the Kabarole district. Methodology Employing a cross-sectional survey approach, data were gathered from 240 adolescent girls residing in the Kabarole district between 01/09/2022 and 18/10/2022. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the relationships between HPV vaccination uptake and various independent variables, including demographics, HPV knowledge, and health system factors. Results Of the 240 adolescents enrolled, the overall prevalence of uptake of HPV vaccination was 63%. The uptake of human papilloma was associated with demographics knowledge about HPV and health systems factors. The multivariate analysis showed that parents who completed secondary level of education were 4.1 times more likely to take their children for HPV vaccination compared to parents whose education level was primary or had no formal education (AOR = 4.06; 95%CI (1.69 - 6.87); p = 0.004). Distance from home to facility was associated with uptake HPV vaccination. Participants who came from the distance of more than 5 km were 60% less likely to uptake HPV vaccination compared to those who come from 5km or less (OR = 0.4; 95%CI (0.34 – 0.89); p = 0.006). Results further revealed that parents whose knowledge about HPV vaccination was moderate were three times more likely to take up HPV vaccine compared to those whose knowledge was low (OR = 2.99; 95%CI(1.14 – 7.87); p = 0.026). Conclusion HPV vaccination uptake was at 63% and relatively lower than national average. Education of parents, Knowledge of HPV vaccination and distance to facility were factors significantly associated with uptake of human papilloma virus vaccine.