Organic electrochemical transistor incorporating an ionogel as solid state electolyte for lactate sensing

The bulk of currently available biosensing techniques often require complex liquid handling, and thus suffer from problems associated with leaking and contamination. We demonstrate the use 10 of an Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) for detection of lactate (an essential analyte in physiological measurements of athlete performance) by integration of a RTIL in a gel-format, as a solid-state electrolyte

BACE1 activity impairs neuronal glucose oxidation:rescue by beta-hydroxybutyrate and lipoic acid

Glucose hypometabolism and impaired mitochondrial function in neurons have been suggested to play early and perhaps causative roles in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Activity of the aspartic acid protease, beta-site amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), responsible for beta amyloid peptide generation, has recently been demonstrated to modify glucose metabolism. We therefore examined, using a human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cell line, whether increased BACE1 activity is responsible for a reduction in cellular glucose metabolism. Overexpression of active BACE1, but not a protease-dead mutant BACE1, protein in SH-SY5Y cells reduced glucose oxidation and the basal oxygen consumption rate, which was associated with a compensatory increase in glycolysis. Increased BACE1 activity had no effect on the mitochondrial electron transfer process but was found to diminish substrate delivery to the mitochondria by inhibition of key mitochondrial decarboxylation reaction enzymes. This BACE1 activity-dependent deficit in glucose oxidation was alleviated by the presence of beta hydroxybutyrate or α-lipoic acid. Consequently our data indicate that raised cellular BACE1 activity drives reduced glucose oxidation in a human neuronal cell line through impairments in the activity of specific tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes. Because this bioenergetic deficit is recoverable by neutraceutical compounds we suggest that such agents, perhaps in conjunction with BACE1 inhibitors, may be an effective therapeutic strategy in the early-stage management or treatment of AD

Tuberculosis drug resistance in Canada, 1998 to 2000

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) is a global threat to TB prevention and control efforts. A recent study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease found strains of TB resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs in all countries surveyed (1). The WHO estimates that 50 million people are infected with strains of drug-resistant TB (2)

Augmented robotic telepresence (ART): A prototype for enhancing remote interaction and participation

Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) allows remote users’ access and mobility in a range of local environments. MRP devices have been adopted in societally significant domains such as workplaces, museums, commerce, education, and healthcare, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide accessibility to these spaces when physical attendance was precluded. Although telepresence robots have autonomous systems features such as collision avoidance, they do not typically allow for physical manipulation of the environment, so they have been found to engender limited trustworthiness and have yet to achieve widespread adoption. This work presents a prototype exploring the potential of Augmented Robotic Telepresence (ART) to improve on inclusion, accessibility, and independence provided to remote users of MRP, broadening the space for interaction and participation, by augmenting affordances in the local environment via techniques such as Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), and remote actuation. Herein we describe the ART prototype developed thus far, which is built on top of a commercial MRP robot, the Double 3 by Double Robotics; we elaborate on the ART prototype design, its implementation, and current capabilities. Lastly, we describe our research plans, including design workshops with museum stakeholders, and point towards directions for future work

Best practices in public risk communication during enteric illness outbreak investigations: a scoping review

IntroductionPublic risk communication is intended to inform and protect the health of individuals during enteric illness outbreaks. However, there is limited practical research that assesses the effectiveness of communication during outbreaks. The aim of this study was to identify best practices in public risk communication during enteric illness outbreak investigations.MethodsA scoping review of five bibliographic databases and gray literature was conducted to identify studies that described public communication during foodborne, waterborne, or enteric zoonotic outbreaks. Eligibility criteria were applied to citations and then full text by two independent reviewers. Data from included studies was extracted and synthesized into categories. Evidence adequacy and agreement were assessed and used to assign an overall level of confidence for each best practice.ResultsIn total, 25 studies were included with most studies occurring in North America and Western Europe. Seven principles, nine practices, and eight platforms were identified. Of these, six principles, four practices, and two platforms received a high confidence rating in their overall effectiveness.DiscussionEffective risk communication during enteric illness outbreak investigations requires public health authorities to identify, characterize, tailor information to, and meaningfully engage with their target audiences, build relationships and collaborate with media outlets, and maintain and increase credibility to deliver trustworthy risk communication messages

Tuberculous meningitis in Denmark: a review of 50 cases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tuberculous meningitis is the most severe manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis with a high mortality rate and a high rate of sequelae among survivors. The aim of this study is to assess the current epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostic procedures, treatment and outcome in patients with tuberculous meningitis in Denmark, a country with a low tuberculosis incidence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A nationwide retrospective study was conducted, comprising all patients notified with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) in Denmark from 2000-2008. Medical records were reviewed using a standardised protocol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty patients, including 12 paediatric patients, were identified. 78% of the patients were immigrants from countries of high tuberculosis endemicity. 64% of all patients had a pre-existing immunosuppressive condition; 10% were HIV positive, 48% were HIV seronegative and 42% had an unknown HIV status. Median symptom duration before admission was 14 days in the Danish patient population and 20 days in the immigrant group. Biochemical analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples revealed pleocytosis in 90% with lymphocyte predominance in 66%. Protein levels were elevated in 86%. The most common findings on neuro-radiological imaging were basal meningeal enhancement, tuberculomas and hydrocephalus. Lumbar puncture was performed on 42 patients; 31 of these specimens (74%) had a positive CSF culture for mycobacteria and 9.5% were smear positive for acid-fast bacilli. The overall mortality rate was 19% and 48% of the remaining patients had neurological sequelae of varying degree.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>TBM is a rare but severe manifestation of extrapulmonary TB in Denmark. The clinician must be prepared to treat empirically if the suspicion of TBM has arisen to improve treatment outcome.</p

Comparison of a Clinical Prediction Rule and a LAM Antigen-Detection Assay for the Rapid Diagnosis of TBM in a High HIV Prevalence Setting

Background/Objective: The diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) in resource poor TB endemic environments is challenging. The accuracy of current tools for the rapid diagnosis of TBM is suboptimal. We sought to develop a clinical-prediction rule for the diagnosis of TBM in a high HIV prevalence setting, and to compare performance outcomes to conventional diagnostic modalities and a novel lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen detection test (Clearview-TB (R)) using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Methods: Patients with suspected TBM were classified as definite-TBM(CSF culture or PCR positive), probable-TBM and non-TBM.Results: Of the 150 patients, 84% were HIV-infected (median [IQR] CD4 count = 132 [54; 241] cells/mu l). There were 39, 55 and 54 patients in the definite, probable and non-TBM groups, respectively. The LAM sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) was 31% (17; 48) and 94% (85; 99), respectively (cut-point >= 0.18). By contrast, smear-microscopy was 100% specific but detected none of the definite-TBM cases. LAM positivity was associated with HIV co-infection and low CD4 T cell count (CD4200 cells/mu l; p = 0.03). The sensitivity and specificity in those with a CD4= 6 derived from multivariate analysis had a sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) of 47% (31; 64) and 98% (90; 100), respectively. When LAM was combined with the clinical-prediction-rule, the sensitivity increased significantly (p<0.001) to 63% (47; 68) and specificity remained high at 93% (82; 98).Conclusions: Despite its modest sensitivity the LAM ELISA is an accurate rapid rule-in test for TBM that has incremental value over smear-microscopy. The rule-in value of LAM can be further increased by combination with a clinical-prediction rule, thus enhancing the rapid diagnosis of TBM in HIV-infected persons with advanced immunosuppression