Background Allergies give rise to the fifth-leading group of chronic diseases. However, the specific prevalence of ocular allergy is poorly described. Objective We sought to provide a more accurate ...representation of the epidemiology of ocular allergy in the United States. Methods The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey III performed in the United States from 1988-1994 was the source for the data collected. Items from the questionnaire regarding ocular and nasal allergy symptoms in relation to skin prick testing were stratified by age, race, region, and sex. Results The sample size is 20,010: 1,285 (6.4%) reported ocular symptoms, 3,294 (16.5%) reported nasal symptoms, 5,944 (29.7%) reported both ocular and nasal symptoms, and 9.487 (47.4%) were asymptomatic. Forty percent of the population reported at least 1 occurrence of ocular symptoms in the past 12 months. Those 50 years and older have a higher frequency of isolated ocular symptoms ( P < .001). There is an increase in the frequency of symptoms in those younger than 50 years in the populations of subjects with ocular and nasal symptoms combined and isolated nasal symptoms ( P < .001). Ocular symptoms are more frequent than nasal symptoms in relation to animals ( P < .001), household dust ( P < .001), and pollen ( P < .001). Conclusion This analysis provides the first representation of the epidemiology of ocular allergy in the United States. Up to 40% of the population, the highest reported to date, have experienced ocular symptoms at least once in their lifetime, with a peak of symptoms in the months of June and July.
The multimicrogrid system is a complicated nonlinear system, which brings performance degradation due to deficient damping under the unexpected fluctuation in power generation due to the presence of ...renewable sources, dynamically changing loading conditions, and parameter variations. Owing to this, to provide consistent electric power with superlative attribute, sturdy and intelligent control techniques are amazingly imperative in the automatic generation control of microgrid (MG). The application of imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA)-based fractional-order integral proportional derivative with filter (IPDF), i.e., integral tilt derivative with filter controller (ITDF) controller in frequency control in two areas interconnected MG (isolation mode) with renewable penetration, is a novel work. A maiden attempt of the ICA is proposed to optimize the gains of the ITDF controller utilizing the integral time absolute error criterion. To demonstrate the supremacy of ICA, its outcomes are contrasted with two existing optimization strategies, namely the genetic algorithm and the particle swarm optimization. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is revealed by contrasting the dynamic responses of multi microgrid (MMG) with proportional integral derivative with filter (PIDF) and tilt integral derivative with filter (TIDF) controllers. At last, a sensitivity investigation is performed to exhibit the power of the studied strategy to wide variations in the MG parameters, magnitude as well as the location of step/random load disturbance. The proposed MMG is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment.
Resting state functional connectivity MRI measures synchronous activity among brain regions although the mechanisms governing the temporally coherent BOLD signals remain unclear. Recent studies ...suggest that γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) levels are correlated with functional connectivity. To understand whether changes in GABA transmission alter functional connectivity, we modulated the GABAergic activity by a GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline. Resting and evoked electrophysiology and BOLD signals were measured in isoflurane-anesthetized rats under infusion of low-dose bicuculline or vehicle individually. Both somatosensory BOLD activations and evoked potentials induced by forepaw stimulation were increased significantly under bicuculline compared to vehicle, indicating increased excitability. Gradually elevated resting BOLD correlation within and between the somatosensory and visual cortices, as well as between somatosensory and caudate putamen but not within subcortical areas were found with the infusion of bicuculline. Increased cerebral blood flow was observed throughout the cortical and subcortical areas where the receptor density is high, but it didn’t correlate with BOLD connectivity except in the primary somatosensory cortex. Furthermore, resting EEG coherence in the alpha and beta bands exhibited consistent change with the BOLD correlation. The increased cortico-cortical and cortico-striatal connectivity without dependence on the receptor distribution indicate that the functional connectivity may be mediated by long-range projection via the cortical and striatal GABAergic inter-neurons. Our results indicate an important role of the GABAergic system on neural and hemodynamic oscillations, which further supports the neuronal basis of functional connectivity MRI and its correlation with neurotransmission.
•Bicuculline modulates resting state functional connectivity in the rodent brain.•Somatosensory BOLD activation and the evoked potentials were increased under bicuculline.•Cortico-cortical connectivity gradually increased with infusion of bicuculline.•Cerebral blood flow increased with bicuculline but did not correlate with BOLD.•Resting state connectivity may reflect underlying neural activity.
Functional MRI (fMRI) has become an important translational tool for studying brain activity and connectivity in animal models and humans. For accurate and reliable measurement of functional ...connectivity, nuisance removal strategies developed for human brain, such as regressing motion parameters, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/white matter-derived signals and the global signal, have been applied to rodent. However, due to the very different anatomy, with the majority of the rodent brain being gray matter, and experimental conditions, in which animals are anesthetized and head-fixed, these methods may not be suitable for rodent fMRI. In this study, we assessed various nuisance regression methods and the effects of motion correction on a large dataset of both task and resting fMRI of anesthetized rat brain. Sensitivity and specificity were assessed in the somatosensory pathway under forepaw stimulation and resting state. Reproducibility at various sample sizes was simulated by randomly subsampling the dataset. To overcome the difficulty in extracting nuisance from the brain, a method using principal components estimated from tissues outside the brain was evaluated. Our results showed that neither detrend, motion correction, motion regression nor CSF signal regression could improve specificity despite increasing temporal signal-to-noise ratios. Although global signal regression increased the specificity of task activation and functional connectivity, the sensitivity and connectivity strength was drastically reduced, likely due to its strong correlation with the cortical signal. Motion parameters also correlated with task activation and the global signal, indicating that motion correction detected intensity variations in the brain. The nuisance estimated from tissues outside the brain produced a moderate improvement in specificity. In conclusion, nuisance removal suitable for human fMRI may not be optimal for rodents. While further development is needed, estimating nuisance from tissues outside the brain may be an alternative.
Near sets (also called Descriptively Near Sets) classify nonempty sets of objects based on object feature values. The Near Set Theory provides a framework for measuring the similarity of objects ...based on features that describe them in much the same way humans perceive the similarity of objects. This paper presents a novel approach for face recognition using Near Set Theory that takes into account variations in facial features due to varying facial expressions, and facial plastic surgery. In the proposed work, we demonstrate two-fold usage of Near set theory; firstly, Near Set Theory as a feature selector to select the plastic surgery facial features with the help of tolerance classes, and secondly, Near Set Theory as a recognizer that uses selected prominent intrinsic facial features which are automatically extracted through the deep learning model. Extensive experimentation was performed on various facial datasets such as YALE, PSD, and ASPS. Experimentation demonstrates 93% of accuracy on the YALE face dataset, 98% of accuracy on the PSD dataset, and 98% of accuracy on the ASPS dataset. A detailed comparative analysis of the proposed work of facial resemblance with other state-of-the-art algorithms is presented in this paper. The experimentation results effectively classify face resemblance using Near Set Theory, which has outperformed several state-of-the-art classification approaches.
This review article describes the pathophysiological mechanisms linking Apolipoprotein B (Apo-B) and atherosclerosis, summarizes the existing evidence on Apo B as a predictor of atherosclerotic ...cardiovascular disease and recommendations of (inter)national treatment guidelines regarding Apo B in dyslipidemia management. A single Apo B molecule is present in every particle of very low-density lipoprotein, intermediate density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, and lipoprotein(a). This unique single Apo B per particle ratio makes plasma Apo B concentration a direct measure of the number of circulating atherogenic lipoproteins. This review of global evidence on Apo B as a biomarker for atherosclerosis confirms that Apo B is a single atherogenic lipid marker present in all lipids sub-fractions except HDL-C, and thus, Apo B integrates and extends the information from triglycerides and cholesterol, which could simplify and improve care for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Brainstem nuclei play a pivotal role in many functions, such as arousal and motor control. Nevertheless, the connectivity of arousal and motor brainstem nuclei is understudied in living humans due to ...the limited sensitivity and spatial resolution of conventional imaging, and to the lack of atlases of these deep tiny regions of the brain. For a holistic comprehension of sleep, arousal and associated motor processes, we investigated in 20 healthy subjects the resting-state functional connectivity of 18 arousal and motor brainstem nuclei in living humans. To do so, we used high spatial-resolution 7 Tesla resting-state fMRI, as well as a recently developed in-vivo probabilistic atlas of these nuclei in stereotactic space. Further, we verified the translatability of our brainstem connectome approach to conventional (e.g. 3 Tesla) fMRI. Arousal brainstem nuclei displayed high interconnectivity, as well as connectivity to the thalamus, hypothalamus, basal forebrain and frontal cortex, in line with animal studies and as expected for arousal regions. Motor brainstem nuclei showed expected connectivity to the cerebellum, basal ganglia and motor cortex, as well as high interconnectivity. Comparison of 3 Tesla to 7 Tesla connectivity results indicated good translatability of our brainstem connectome approach to conventional fMRI, especially for cortical and subcortical (non-brainstem) targets and to a lesser extent for brainstem targets. The functional connectome of 18 arousal and motor brainstem nuclei with the rest of the brain might provide a better understanding of arousal, sleep and accompanying motor functions in living humans in health and disease.
Microemulsion formulation of repaglinide, a BCS class II hypoglycemic agent with limited oral bioavailability, was developed considering its solubility in various oils, surfactants, and ...cosurfactants. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams for microemulsion regions were constructed by water titration method at
K
m
1:1 and characterized for optical birefringence, percentage transmittance, pH, refractive index, globule size, zeta potential, viscosity, drug content, and thermodynamic stability. To enhance the drug permeation and residence time, the optimized microemulsions having mean globule size of 36.15 ± 9.89 nm was gelled with xanthan gum. The developed microemulsion-based gel was characterized for globule size, zeta potential, pH, and drug content. All evaluation parameters upon gelling were found to be satisfactory.
Ex vivo
permeability study across rat skin demonstrated higher steady-state flux (
P
< 0.05) for microemulsion of repaglinide in comparison to the repaglinide microemulsion gel. At the end of 24 h, the cumulative drug permeation from microemulsion and microemulsion gel was found to be 229.19 ± 24.34 and 180.84 ± 17.40 μg/cm
2
, respectively. The microemulsion formulation showed 12.30-fold increase in flux as compared to drug suspension with highest enhancement ratio (
E
r
) of 12.36. Whereas microemulsion gel exhibited 10.97-fold increase in flux (with highest
E
r
, 11.78) as compared to repaglinide (RPG) suspension.
In vivo
efficacy study was performed in normal Sprague-Dawley rats by using oral glucose tolerance test. Results of RPG transdermal microemulsion gel demonstrated remarkable advantage over orally administered RPG by reducing the glucose level in controlled manner. Hence, it could be a new, alternative dosage form for effective therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial additive in consumer products that has been detected in human populations globally. The purpose of this study was to assess triclosan exposure among the ...Canadian population using urinary triclosan as a biomarker. Data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) that reported triclosan concentrations in 8195 urine samples collected from Cycle 2 (2009–2011) and Cycle 3 (2012−2013) were analyzed. Triclosan was detected in 69.8% of samples with the geometric mean concentrations of 16 μg/L (16 μg/g creatinine) for the total population, 13 μg/L (13 μg/g creatinine) for children (3–19 years of age), and 16 μg/L (17 μg/g creatinine) for adults. Triclosan concentrations significantly differed by age, income, education, and employment in healthcare occupations, but not by race/ethnicity, sex, region of residence, or drinking water preferences or sources. Linear regression models were used to identify factors associated with urinary triclosan concentration. Results showed that household income was associated with higher urinary triclosan concentrations in both children and adults. Employed in healthcare occupations were associated with higher urinary triclosan concentrations in adults. Triclosan exposure at the 99th percentile was below the Biomonitoring Equivalents based on reference dose, suggesting that health risks to the Canadian population from triclosan exposure were low.
•Triclosan concentrations in 8195 urine samples collected from Canadians are reported.•Triclosan concentrations differed by age, income, education, and employment in healthcare occupations.•Health risks to the Canadian population from triclosan exposure were low.
People with chronic conditions are disproportionately prone to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but there are limited data documenting this. We aimed to assess the health, psychosocial and ...economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with chronic conditions in India.
Between July 29, to September 12, 2020, we telephonically surveyed adults (n = 2335) with chronic conditions across four sites in India. Data on participants' demographic, socio-economic status, comorbidities, access to health care, treatment satisfaction, self-care behaviors, employment, and income were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. We performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with difficulty in accessing medicines and worsening of diabetes or hypertension symptoms. Further, a diverse sample of 40 participants completed qualitative interviews that focused on eliciting patient's experiences during the COVID-19 lockdowns and data analyzed using thematic analysis.
One thousand seven hundred thirty-four individuals completed the survey (response rate = 74%). The mean (SD) age of respondents was 57.8 years (11.3) and 50% were men. During the COVID-19 lockdowns in India, 83% of participants reported difficulty in accessing healthcare, 17% faced difficulties in accessing medicines, 59% reported loss of income, 38% lost jobs, and 28% reduced fruit and vegetable consumption. In the final-adjusted regression model, rural residence (OR, 95%CI: 4.01,2.90-5.53), having diabetes (2.42, 1.81-3.25) and hypertension (1.70,1.27-2.27), and loss of income (2.30,1.62-3.26) were significantly associated with difficulty in accessing medicines. Further, difficulties in accessing medicines (3.67,2.52-5.35), and job loss (1.90,1.25-2.89) were associated with worsening of diabetes or hypertension symptoms. Qualitative data suggest most participants experienced psychosocial distress due to loss of job or income and had difficulties in accessing in-patient services.
People with chronic conditions, particularly among poor, rural, and marginalized populations, have experienced difficulties in accessing healthcare and been severely affected both socially and financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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