Household energy insecurity (HEINS) is detrimental to the health of the poor and most vulnerable in resource-poor settings. However, this effect amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the uneven ...implementation of restrictions can create a synergistic burden of diseases and health risks for the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries, exacerbating the health equity gap. Based on existing literature, this paper develops three key arguments: (1) COVID-19 increases the health risks of energy insecurity; (2) HEINS increases the risk of spreading COVID-19; and (3) the co-occurrence of COVID-19 and HEINS will have compounding health effects. These arguments make context-specific interventions, rather than a generic global health approach without recourse to existing vulnerabilities critical in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating the effects of energy insecurity. Targeted international efforts aimed at financing and supporting resource security, effective testing, contact tracing, and the equitable distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment have the potential to ameliorate the synergistic effects of HEINS and COVID-19 in resource-poor countries.
Purpose
Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is increasingly being explored to modulate neuronal activity. To target neuromodulation, researchers often localize the FUS beam onto the brain region(s) ...of interest using spatially tracked tools overlaid on pre-acquired images. Here, we quantify the accuracy of optically tracked image-guided FUS with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry, evaluate sources of error and demonstrate feasibility of these procedures to target the macaque somatosensory region.
Methods
We developed an optically tracked FUS system capable of projecting the transducer focus onto a pre-acquired MRI volume. To measure the target registration error (TRE), we aimed the transducer focus at a desired target in a phantom under image guidance, heated the target while imaging with MR thermometry and then calculated the TRE as the difference between the targeted and heated locations. Multiple targets were measured using either an unbiased or bias-corrected calibration. We then targeted the macaque S1 brain region, where displacement induced by the acoustic radiation force was measured using MR acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI).
Results
All calibration methods enabled registration with TRE on the order of 3 mm. Unbiased calibration resulted in an average TRE of 3.26 mm (min–max: 2.80–4.53 mm), which was not significantly changed by prospective bias correction (TRE of 3.05 mm; 2.06–3.81 mm,
p
= 0.55). Restricting motion between the transducer and target and increasing the distance between tracked markers reduced the TRE to 2.43 mm (min–max: 0.79–3.88 mm). MR-ARFI images showed qualitatively similar shape and extent as projected beam profiles in a living non-human primate.
Conclusions
Our study describes methods for image guidance of FUS neuromodulation and quantifies errors associated with this method in a large animal. The workflow is efficient enough for in vivo use, and we demonstrate transcranial MR-ARFI in vivo in macaques for the first time.
Abstract Integrin-binding peptides increase cell adhesion to naive hydroxyapatite (HA), however, in the body, HA becomes rapidly modified by protein adsorption. Previously we reported that, when ...combined with an adsorbed protein layer, RGD peptides interfered with cell adhesion to HA. In the current study we evaluated mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) interactions with HA disks coated with the collagen-mimetic peptides, DGEA, P15 and GFOGER. MSCs adhered equally well to disks coated with DGEA, P15, or collagen I, and all three substrates, but not GFOGER, supported greater cell adhesion than uncoated HA. When peptide-coated disks were overcoated with proteins from serum or the tibial microenvironment, collagen mimetics did not inhibit MSC adhesion, as was observed with RGD, however neither did they enhance adhesion. Given that activation of collagen-selective integrins stimulates osteoblastic differentiation, we monitored osteocalcin secretion and alkaline phosphatase activity from MSCs adherent to DGEA or P15-coated disks. Both of these osteoblastic markers were upregulated by DGEA and P15, in the presence and absence of differentiation-inducing media. Finally, bone formation on HA tibial implants was increased by the collagen mimetics. Collectively these results suggest that collagen-mimetic peptides improve osseointegration of HA, most probably by stimulating osteoblastic differentiation, rather than adhesion, of MSCs.
The super Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Interaction eXperiment (sPHENIX) at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider will perform high-precision measurements of jets and heavy flavor observables for a ...wide selection of nuclear collision systems, elucidating the microscopic nature of strongly interacting matter ranging from nucleons to the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma. A prototype of the sPHENIX calorimeter system was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility as experiment T-1044 in the spring of 2016. The electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) prototype is composed of scintillating fibers embedded in a mixture of tungsten powder and epoxy. The hadronic calorimeter (HCal) prototype is composed of tilted steel plates alternating with the plastic scintillator. Results of the test beam reveal the energy resolution for electrons in the EMCal is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">2.8\%\oplus 15.5\%/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula> and the energy resolution for hadrons in the combined EMCal plus HCal system is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">13.5\%\oplus 64.9\%/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula>. These results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed calorimeter system satisfies the sPHENIX specifications.
A combined time projection chamber-Cherenkov (TPCC) prototype detector has been developed as part of the detector research and development program for a future electron-ion collider (EIC). The ...prototype was tested at the Fermilab test beam facility (FTBF) to provide a proof of the principle to demonstrate the ability to measure particle tracks and provide particle identification (PID) information within a common detector volume. The time projection chamber (TPC) portion consists of a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">10 \times 10 \times 10 </tex-math></inline-formula> cm 3 field cage, which delivers charge from tracks to a quadruple gas electron multiplier (GEM) with zigzag-shaped charge collection anodes. The Cherenkov portion consists of a photosensitive quadruple GEM detector with a CsI photocathode. As tracks pass through the drift volume of the TPC, the generated Cherenkov light is able to escape through sparsely arranged wires making up one side of the field cage, facing the CsI photocathode. The Cherenkov detector is thus operated in a windowless, proximity focused configuration for high efficiency. Pure CF 4 is used as the working gas for both detector components, mainly due to its transparency into the deep UV, as well as its high N 0 . Results from the beam test, including the position resolution as well as the particle id capabilities of the detector, are discussed in this paper.
This study was undertaken to investigate the occurrence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in Orang Asli (OA), the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia. OA consist ...of Negrito, Proto-Malay, and Senoi groups who collectively comprise only 0.76% of the population of Peninsular Malaysia. Owing to the challenges in accessing their remote villages, these groups are often excluded in larger government health surveys. Although tropical diseases were scourges in the past, with rapid national development, many OA communities have been gradually urbanized. We believe an epidemiological transition is occurring and non-communicable diseases are on the rise.
A retrospective cross-sectional study.
Indigenous Malaysians (n = 629) from three major groups (Negrito, Proto-Malay, and Senoi) were recruited, after ethics approval and informed consent. Body mass index (BMI), body weight, height, waist circumference, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured, and participants were examined for acanthosis nigricans. Venous blood samples were used for measurements of fasting blood sugar, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Insulin resistance was estimated using a surrogate measurement TG/HDL-C. The ratios of TC to HDL-C, and of LDL-C to HDL-C were determined. MetS was accessed according to the Joint Interim Statement of the IDF Tsak Force on Epidemiology and Prevention.
MetS affected 29.57% of the OA population investigated and was significantly more prevalent (P < 0.05) in women than in men (35.25% vs 21.95%, P < 0.001). MetS prevalence was the highest among the Proto-Malays (39.56%), followed by Negritos (26.35%) and Senois (11.26%). The most prevalent risk factor among the Negritos with MetS was low HDL-C (95.35%), whereas central obesity was the most common risk factor among the Proto-Malays (82.91%). In contrast, hypertension was the commonest risk factor among the Senois with MetS (94.44%). Elevated TG/HDL-C ratios resulted in the highest risk for MetS among the OA population (relative risk RR = 7.01, 95% confidence interval CI = 3.58–13.72). The risk was almost four-fold among those with high TG (RR = 3.89, 95% CI = 3.08–4.91) and three-fold among those with BMI obesity (RR = 3.37, 95% CI = 2.61–4.36) and central obesity (RR = 2.99, 95% CI = 2.48–3.61).
This may well be the first comprehensive report about MetS in OA indigenous communities in Malaysia. We have shown that rapidly urbanized OA communities had significant prevalence of MetS and associated cardiometabolic risk factors. Major contributory factors may include changes from previous hunter-gatherer lifestyles and subsistence diets to more urbanized lifestyles and easier access to high calorie foods.
•Metabolic syndrome prevalence of 30% in Orang Asli (OA) indigenous individuals was the highest among ethnic groups in Malaysia.•Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension and central obesity are the most prevalent cardiometabolic factors.•Recommendation for health education, training and empowerment of OA facilitators to reduce cardiometabolic diseases.