Low uptake of antiretroviral therapy after admission with human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

A prospective cohort study was conducted among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected in-patients with tuberculosis (TB) or other opportunistic infections (OIs) in South Africa to estimate subsequent antiretroviral therapy (ART) uptake and survival

Acute Hypercapnia/Ischemia Alters the Esterification of Arachidonic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Epoxide Metabolites in Rat Brain Neutral Lipids.

In the brain, approximately 90% of oxylipins are esterified to lipids. However, the significance of this esterification process is not known. In the present study, we (1) validated an aminopropyl solid phase extraction (SPE) method for separating esterified lipids using 100 and 500 mg columns and (2) applied the method to quantify the distribution of esterified oxylipins within phospholipids (PL) and neutral lipids (NL) (i.e. triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester) in rats subjected to head-focused microwave fixation (controls) or CO2 -induced hypercapnia/ischemia. We hypothesized that oxylipin esterification into these lipid pools will be altered following CO2 -induced hypercapnia/ischemia. Lipids were extracted from control (n = 8) and CO2 -asphyxiated (n = 8) rat brains and separated on aminopropyl cartridges to yield PL and NL. The separated lipid fractions were hydrolyzed, purified with hydrophobic-lipophilic-balanced SPE columns, and analyzed with ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Method validation showed that the 500 mg (vs 100 mg) aminopropyl columns yielded acceptable separation and recovery of esterified fatty acid epoxides but not other oxylipins. Two epoxides of arachidonic acid (ARA) were significantly increased, and three epoxides of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were significantly decreased in brain NL of CO2 -asphyxiated rats compared to controls subjected to head-focused microwave fixation. PL-bound fatty acid epoxides were highly variable and did not differ significantly between the groups. This study demonstrates that hypercapnia/ischemia alters the concentration of ARA and DHA epoxides within NL, reflecting an active turnover process regulating brain fatty acid epoxide concentrations

Simultaneous Material Type Classification And Mapping Data Acquisition Using A Laser Range Finder

This paper presents a method for single sensor simultaneous derivation of three-dimensional mapping data and material type data for use in an autonomous sandblasting system. A Hokuyo laser range finder s firmware has been modified so that it returns intensity data. A range error and return intensity analyzing algorithm allows the material type of the sensed object to be determined from a set of known materials. Empirical results have demonstrated the system s ability to classify material type (under alignment and orientation constraints) from a set of known materials common to sandblasting environments (wood, concrete, metals with different finishes and cloth/fabric) and to successfully classify objects both when static and when fitted to an in-motion 6-DOF anthropomorphic robotic arm

Kejadian Asfiksia dan Perkembangan Anak Usia 6-24 Bulan di Rumah Sakit Luwuk, Sulawesi Tengah

Neonatal asphyxia and growth development of children aged 6-24 months in Luwuk hospital, Central SulawesiPurposeThis research aimed to explore the associations between the occurrences of asphyxia neonatorum and development of children at the age of 6-24 months at hospital of Luwuk, South Sulawesi.MethodsA quantitative approach was employed to gather the data for the study, utilizing a cross-sectional survey design. The sample (n = 6-24 months) consisted of children at hospital of Luwuk of Banggai, South Sulawesi. The research instrument to collect development data of the infants was DDST II. Bivariate analysis was conducted by using chi-square tests to investigate any strong association between independent variable and dependent variable using Ratio Prevalence. Multivariate analysis was conducted by using logistic regression tests using a 95% Confidence Interval and a significance level of 0.05.ResultsThe occurrence of asphyxia neonatorum was statistically significant with the development of children at the age of 6-24 months (p<0.005). Children who experience asphyxia neonatorum were more likely with greater risk 2.11 times to have suspect development than those who did not.ConclusionThere was an association between the occurrences of asphyxia neonatorum and the development of children at the age 6-24 months at hospital of Luwuk of Banggai, South Sulawesi

Intelligent FDSS Overlay on GSM System (Uplink Analysis)

The overlay of an intelligent frequency diversity spread spectrum system (FDSS) on the (GSM) system is studied. The uplink capacity of both systems is given using a model of 36 hexagonal macrocells. Performance of GSM and FDSS users is investigated. An original GSM system with 48 users/macrocell can be substituted by a mixed system, which has GSM system capacity of 48 users/macrocell and FDSS system capacity of 128 users/macrocell

Linoleic acid participates in the response to ischemic brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission.

Linoleic acid (LA; 18:2 n-6), the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in the US diet, is a precursor to oxidized metabolites that have unknown roles in the brain. Here, we show that oxidized LA-derived metabolites accumulate in several rat brain regions during CO2-induced ischemia and that LA-derived 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid, but not LA, increase somatic paired-pulse facilitation in rat hippocampus by 80%, suggesting bioactivity. This study provides new evidence that LA participates in the response to ischemia-induced brain injury through oxidized metabolites that regulate neurotransmission. Targeting this pathway may be therapeutically relevant for ischemia-related conditions such as stroke

An Upper Bound on the Higgs Boson Mass from a Positivity Condition on the Mass Matrix

We impose the condition that the eigenvalues of the mass matrix in the shifted Lagrangian density be positive at \phi=\phi_{0}, the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field. Using the one-loop effective potential of the standard model, this condition leads to an upper bound on the Higgs boson mass m_{H}: m_{H}<230GeV, for a top quark mass of 175GeV.Comment: LaTex, 5 page

An inverse model to determine the heat transfer coefficient and its evolution with time during solidification of light alloys

Infra-red probes linked to pyrometric chains and thermocouple arrays have been used to accurately determine both casting and die surface temperatures during the solidification of an aluminium A380 alloy and the magnesium alloy AZ91D. An inverse model was then used to accurately determine the heat flux densities and interfacial heat transfer coefficients and the rapid evolution of these values with time during high pressure die casting of these alloys