Summary
The majority of new and existing cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection occur among people who inject drugs (PWID). Despite safe and efficacious HCV antiviral therapy, uptake remains low ...in this population. This study examined trends in HCV treatment uptake among a large national sample of PWID attending Australian Needle and Syringe Programs between 1999 and 2011. Annual cross‐sectional sero‐surveys conducted among PWID since 1995 involve completion of a self‐administered questionnaire and provision of a dried blood spot for HCV antibody testing. Multivariate logistic regression identified variables independently associated with HCV treatment uptake among 9478 participants with both self‐reported and serologically confirmed prior HCV infection. Between 1999 and 2011, the proportion currently receiving treatment increased from 1.1% to 2.1% (P < 0.001), while the proportion having ever received treatment increased from 3.4% to 8.6% (P < 0.001). Men were significantly more likely than women to have undertaken HCV treatment (P = 0.002). Among men, independent predictors of HCV treatment uptake were homosexual identity and older age; among women, independent predictors included homosexual identity and an incarceration history. Despite increases in HCV treatment among Australian PWID between 1999 and 2011, uptake remains low. Strategies are required to increase the proportion of PWID assessed and treated for HCV infection to address the increasing burden of disease. Specific approaches that target women may also be warranted. Continued surveillance of HCV treatment uptake among PWID will be important to monitor the roll‐out of simple, safe and more effective HCV treatments expected to be available in the future.
Serious conflicts over water resources and the determination of new dams locations often happen in undeveloped transboundary basins. The resolution of these conflicts through equitable allocation ...depends on the uncertain distribution of the surface water. This study is an extension of the multi-objective model presented Roozbahani et al. Ann Oper Res 287: 323–349, (
2020
), adding a stochastic modeling approach to settle the water conflicts. We consider the uncertainty of the available streamflow through fitting a multivariate distribution on the historical runoff data in the each node of a basin network. Then, several streamflow scenarios are generated according to the fitted distributions, utilizing the NORmal-To-Anything (NORTA) algorithm. The water shares of the stakeholders, besides the location and capacity of required dams, are obtained using a three-step algorithm for each generated runoff scenario. The water allocation policy is to maximize the minimum ratio of a realized profit over the highest possible profit of the stakeholders from the water utilization, while satisfying the environmental water requirements in the entire basins. The results are analyzed using the frequency approach to determine the optimal location and capacity of new dams. Furthermore, the proposed approach is illustrated through a case study of water allocation modeling in the Sefidrud Basin, Iran. The outputs of the approach implementation show that a dam construction in a node (Node 10) has a substantial role in the sustainable water development of the basin as it is proposed by 52 runoff scenario, in which the 35% of them propose 1230 MCM capacity for the dam.
Ash deposited during volcanic eruptions can be resuspended by wind and become hazardous for health and infrastructure hours to decades after an eruption. Accurate resuspension forecasting requires ...accurate modelling of the threshold friction velocity of the volcanic particles (U
*), which is the key parameter controlling volcanic ash detachment by wind. Using an environmental wind tunnel facility this study provides much needed experimental data on volcanic particle resuspension, with the first systematic parameterization of U
* for ash from the regions Campi Flegrei in Italy and also Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. In this study atmospheric relative humidity (and related ash moisture content) was systematically varied, from <10% to >90%, which in the case of the Eyjafjallajökull fine ash (<63 μm) produced a twofold increase in U
*. Using the Campi Flegrei fine ash (<63 μm) an increase in U
* of only around a factor of 1.5 was observed. Reasonable agreement with force balance resuspension models was seen, which implied an increase in interparticle adhesion force of up to a factor of six due to high humidity. Our results imply that, contrary to dry conditions, one single modelling scheme may not satisfy the resuspension of volcanic ash from different eruptions under wet conditions.
Disease outbreak response: why epidemiology plays a central role Avigad, R; Ellis-Iversen, J; Gibbens, J ...
Revista científica y técnica - Oficina internacional de epizootias/Scientific and technical review - International Office of Epizootics/Revue scientifique et technique - Office international des épizooties,
05/2023, Volume:
42
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The need to control transboundary animal disease outbreaks is widely recognised, as is the need for evidence-based decisions regarding which control measures to implement. Key data and information ...are required to inform this evidence base. To ensure effective communication of the evidence, a rapid process of collation, interpretation and translation is required. This paper describes how epidemiology can provide the framework through which relevant specialists can be engaged to this end, and highlights the central role of epidemiologists, with their unique combination of skills, in this process. It provides an example of an evidence team led by epidemiologists, namely the United Kingdom National Emergency Epidemiology Group, which was established to address this need. It then goes on to consider the different strands of epidemiology, the need for a wide multidisciplinary approach, and the importance of training and preparedness activities to facilitate rapid response.
Growth of the marine microalga Tetraselmis striata Butcher and the macroalga Chondrus crispus Stackhouse was investigated in batch cultures in a closed system bubble column photobioreactor. A ...laboratory cultivation system was constructed that allowed online monitoring of pH and dissolved oxygen tension and was used for characterization of photoautotrophic growth. Carbon dioxide addition regulated pH and was used to optimise irradiance. Oxygen was removed from the system by addition of hydrogen over a palladium catalyst to quantify oxygen production. In addition, the bubble column photobioreactor was suited for cultivation of algae due to fast gas-to-liquid mass transfer (kLa) and fast mixing provided by split and dual sparging. Specific growth rates (SGRs) were measured using both offline and online measurements. The latter was possible, because rectilinear correlation was observed between carbon dioxide addition and optical density, which shows that carbon dioxide addition may be used as an indirect measurement of microalgal biomass (x). The slope of the rectilinear fit of ln (dx/dt) as a function of the time (t) then revealed the SGR. These determinations revealed detailed information about changes in growth with up to three different SGRs in the different batch cultures of both micro- and macroalgae. The maximum SGRs found by online determination were 0.13 h⁻¹ for T. striata and 0.12 day⁻¹ for C. crispus. We have developed and described a system and presented some data handling tools that provide new information about growth kinetics of algae.
Meditation is a complex mental process involving changes in cognition, sensory perception, affect, hormones, and autonomic activity. Meditation has also become widely used in psychological and ...medical practices for stress management as well as a variety of physical and mental disorders. However, until now, there has been limited understanding of the overall biological mechanism of these practices in terms of the effects in both the brain and body. We have previously described a rudimentary neuropsychological model to explain the brain mechanisms underlying meditative experiences. This paper provides a substantial development by integrating neurotransmitter systems and the results of recent brain imaging advances into the model. The following is a review and synthesis of the current literature regarding the various neurophysiological mechanisms and neurochemical substrates that underlie the complex processes of meditation. It is hoped that this model will provide hypotheses for future biological and clinical studies of meditation.
The filamentous fungus, Aspergillus niger, responds to nutrient availability by modulating secretion of various substrate degrading hydrolases. This ability has made it an important organism in ...industrial production of secreted glycoproteins. The recent publication of the A. niger genome sequence and availability of microarrays allow high resolution studies of transcriptional regulation of basal cellular processes, like those of glycoprotein synthesis and secretion. It is known that the activities of certain secretory pathway enzymes involved N-glycosylation are elevated in response to carbon source induced secretion of the glycoprotein glucoamylase. We have investigated whether carbon source dependent enhancement of protein secretion can lead to upregulation of secretory pathway elements extending beyond those involved in N-glycosylation.
This study compares the physiology and transcriptome of A. niger growing at the same specific growth rate (0.16 h(-1)) on xylose or maltose in carbon-limited chemostat cultures. Transcription profiles were obtained using Affymetrix GeneChip analysis of six replicate cultures for each of the two growth-limiting carbon sources. The production rate of extracellular proteins per gram dry mycelium was about three times higher on maltose compared to xylose. The defined culture conditions resulted in high reproducibility, discriminating even low-fold differences in transcription, which is characteristic of genes encoding basal cellular functions. This included elements in the secretory pathway and central metabolic pathways. Increased protein secretion on maltose was accompanied by induced transcription of > 90 genes related to protein secretion. The upregulated genes encode key elements in protein translocation to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), folding, N-glycosylation, quality control, and vesicle packaging and transport between ER and Golgi. The induction effect of maltose resembles the unfolded protein response (UPR), which results from ER-stress and has previously been defined by treatment with chemicals interfering with folding of glycoproteins or by expression of heterologous proteins.
We show that upregulation of secretory pathway genes also occurs in conditions inducing secretion of endogenous glycoproteins - representing a more normal physiological state. Transcriptional regulation of protein synthesis and secretory pathway genes may thus reflect a general mechanism for modulation of secretion capacity in response to the conditional need for extracellular enzymes.
While illicit drug use is prevalent among gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Australia, little is known about the factors associated with injecting drug use among GBM.
The Following Lives Undergoing ...Change (FLUX) study is a national, online prospective observational cohort investigating drug use among Australian GBM. Eligible participants were men living in Australia who were aged 16.5 years or older, identified as gay or bisexual or had sex with at least one man in the last year. We examined baseline data for associations between socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics and recent (last six months) injecting using log-binomial regression.
Of 1995 eligible respondents, 206 (10.3%) reported ever injecting drugs and 93 (4.7%) had injected recently, most commonly crystal (91.4%) and speed (9.7%). Among recent injectors, only 16 (17.2%) reported injecting at least weekly; eight (8.6%) reported recent receptive syringe sharing. Self-reported HIV and HCV prevalence was higher among recent injectors than among other participants (HIV: 46.2% vs 5.0%, p < .001; HCV: 16.1% vs. 1.2%, p < .001). Recent injecting was associated with lifetime use of more drug classes (adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) = 1.31, 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 1.21–1.41), longer time since initiating party drug use (APR = 1.02, 95%CI 1.01–1.04), greater numbers of sex partners (2–10 sex partners: APR = 3.44, 95%CI 1.45–8.20; >10 sex partners: APR = 3.21, 95%CI 1.30–7.92), group sex (APR = 1.42, 95%CI 1.05–1.91) and condomless anal intercourse with casual partners (APR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.34–2.43) in the last six months.
Observed associations between injecting and sexual risk reflect a strong relationship between these practices among GBM. The intersectionality between injecting drug use and sex partying indicates a need to integrate harm reduction interventions for GBM who inject drugs into sexual health services and targeted sexual health interventions into Needle and Syringe Programs.
•Organometallic and coordination chemistry of Be since 2008.•Major synthetic and theoretical advances relevant to the synthetic chemist in Be chemistry considered.•Direct comparisons of cases where ...Be chemistry affords opportunities not available to other alkaline earth metals.
Recent developments in the coordination and organometallic chemistry of beryllium are reviewed. The primary focus is on synthetic as well as theoretical reports relevant to the synthetic chemist since 2008 on molecular Be complexes bound to C, N and P ligands.
PDF
