Conectar
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are chronic disabling conditions characterised by flares followed by periods of remission. However, patients with IBD are seen every 3–6 months in the outpatient clinic, and the occurrence of a flare between two outpatient visits is not captured. To our knowledge, there is no validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) tool to measure the phenomenon of flare in IBD. This study aimed to use an innovative methodology to collect messages posted by patients in an internet forum for developing and validating a PRO measuring flare in IBD.
The design involves (1) computer engineering sciences for scraping extraction of messages posted in an internet forum and for identification of messages related to flare; (2) qualitative methods for thematic content analyse of the messages posted, for candidate items generation, for items selection (Delphi process) and for items adjustment (‘think-aloud’ interviews) and (3) quantitative methods for psychometric validation of the PRO.
Ethical approval was obtained from the Comité de Protection des Personnes (CPP) CPP Nord-Ouest I (19.07.15.44139) in November 2019. The project aims to provide a tool to evaluate IBD flare in current medical practice that is constructed with patients’ perspectives. Items generation from a source corresponding to exchanges in an internet forum is an innovative method in this field and provides a wider coverage of qualitative data. If such a forum can result in interesting material, then this could be a new methodological perspective for generating items for questionnaires. Findings will be reported and disseminated widely through international peer-reviewed journal publications, oral and poster presentations at scientific conferences.
In the field of forced migration and mental health research, longitudinal studies with large sample sizes and rigorous methodology are lacking. Therefore, the Resettlement in Uprooted Groups Explored (REFUGE)-study was initiated in order to enhance current knowledge on mental health, quality of life and integration among adult refugees from Syria resettled in Norway. The main aims of the study are to investigate risk and protective factors for mental ill health in a longitudinal perspective; to trace mental health trajectories and investigate important modifiers of these trajectories and to explore the association between mental health and integration in the years following resettlement. The aims will be pursued by combining data from a longitudinal, three-wave questionnaire survey with data from population-based registries on education; work participation and sick-leave; healthcare utilisation and drug prescription. The goal is to incorporate the data in an internationally shared database, the REFUGE-database, where collaborating researchers may access and use data from the study as well as deposit data from similar studies.
Adult (≥18 years), Syrian citizens who arrived in Norway as quota refugees, asylum seekers or through Norway’s family reunion programme between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2017. Of the initial 9990 sampled individuals for the first wave of the study (REFUGE-I), 8752 were reached by post or telephone and 902 responded (response rate=10.3%).
None published.
The REFUGE-cohort study will conduct two additional data collections (2020 and 2021). Furthermore, questionnaire data will be linked to population-based registries after all three waves of data collection have been completed. Registry data will be obtained for time-periods both prior to and after the survey data collection points. Finally, pending ethics approval, we will begin the process of merging the Norwegian REFUGE-cohort with existing datasets in Sweden, establishing the extended REFUGE-database.
ClincalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03742128).
Presently, those outcomes that should be prioritised for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation studies remain unclear. In order to coordinate multicentre studies on eosinophilia-driven corticosteroid therapy for patients hospitalised for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), we aimed to find consensus among experts in the domain regarding the prioritisation of outcomes.
A modified Delphi study was proposed to recognised COPD experts. Two brainstorming questionnaires were used to collect potential outcomes. Four subsequent rounds of questionnaires were used to rank items according to a six-point Likert scale for their importance in the protocol, as well as for being the primary outcome. Priority outcome criteria were predefined as those for which ≥70% of experts indicated that the outcome was essential for interpreting study results.
COPD exacerbation management in France.
34 experts recommended by the French Language Pulmonology Society were invited to participate. Of the latter, 21 experts participated in brainstorming, and 19 participated in all four ranking rounds.
105 outcomes were ranked. Two achieved consensus as candidate primary outcomes: (1) treatment failure defined as death from any cause or the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation, readmission because of COPD or intensification of pharmacologic therapy, and (2) the time required to meet predefined discharge criteria. The 10 secondary priority outcomes included survival, time with no sign of improvement, episodes of hospitalisation, exacerbation, pneumonia, mechanical or non-invasive ventilation and oxygen use, as well as comorbidities during the initial hospitalisation.
This Delphi consensus project generated and prioritised a great many outcomes, documenting current expert views concerning a diversity of COPD endpoints. Among the latter, 12 reached consensus as priority outcomes for evaluating the efficacy of eosinophil-driven corticosteroid therapy in AECOPD inpatients.
The eo-Delphi project/protocol was registered on 23 January 2018 at https://osf.io/4ahqw/.
Immunomodulators such as thiopurines (azathioprine (AZA)/6-mercaptopurine (6MP)), methotrexate (MTX) and biologics such as adalimumab (ADA) are well established for maintenance of remission within paediatric Crohn’s disease (CD). It remains unclear, however, which maintenance medication should be used first line in specific patient groups.
To compare the efficacy of maintenance therapies in newly diagnosed CD based on stratification into high and low-risk groups for severe CD evolution; MTX versus AZA/6MP in low-risk and MTX versus ADA in high-risk patients. Primary end point: sustained remission at 12 months (weighted paediatric CD activity index ≤12.5 and C reactive protein ≤1.5 fold upper limit) without relapse or ongoing requirement for exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN)/steroids 12 weeks after treatment initiation.
REDUCE-RISK in CD is an international multicentre open-label prospective randomised controlled trial funded by EU within the Horizon2020 framework (grant number 668023). Eligible patients (aged 6–17 years, new-onset disease receiving steroids or EEN for induction of remission for luminal ± perianal CD are stratified into low and high-risk groups based on phenotype and response to induction therapy. Participants are randomised to one of two treatment arms within their risk group: low-risk patients to weekly subcutaneous MTX or daily oral AZA/6MP, and high-risk patients to weekly subcutaneous MTX or fortnightly ADA. Patients are followed up for 12 months at prespecified intervals. Electronic case report forms are completed prospectively. The study aims to recruit 312 participants (176 low risk; 136 high risk).
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: (NCT02852694), authorisation and approval from local ethics committees have been obtained prior to recruitment. Individual informed consent will be obtained prior to participation in the study. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal with open access.
NCT02852694; Pre-results.
To explore the patient view of competencies essential for doctors to provide good collaboration at the primary–secondary care interface.
We used a qualitative research approach. Focus groups with patients were conducted to explore their opinions of doctors’ competencies to provide good collaboration between primary and secondary care doctors. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.
Dutch primary–secondary care interface.
Sixteen participants took part in five focus groups. Patients treated in both primary and secondary care, defined as having a minimum of two contacts with their general practitioner and two contacts with a medical specialty in the last 6 months, were included. Psychiatric patients and children were excluded from this study.
Three groups of competencies were identified: (1) relationship building, both with patients and with other doctors; (2) transparent collaborating: be able to provide clarity on the process of collaboration and on roles and responsibilities of those involved and (3) reflective practising: to be willing to acknowledge mistakes, give and receive feedback and act as a lifelong learner.
This focus group study enhances our understanding of the patient perspective on doctors’ collaborative competencies at the primary–secondary care interface. With this information, doctors can improve their collaborative skills to a level that would meet their patients’ needs. Patients expect doctors to be able to build relationships and act as reflective practitioners. Including patients in the collaborative process by giving them a role that is appropriate to their abilities and by making collaboration more explicit could help to improve collaboration between general practitioners and medical specialists.
Previous studies have attempted to review the vast body of evidence on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), but none has focused on a complete mapping and synthesis of the body of inquiry and evidence on ASRH in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Such a comprehensive scoping is needed, however, to offer direction to policy, programming and future research. We aim to undertake a scoping review of studies on ASRH in SSA to capture the landscape of extant research and findings and identify gaps for future research.
This protocol is designed using the framework for scoping reviews developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. We will include English and French language peer-reviewed publications and grey literature on ASRH (aged 10–19) in SSA published between January 2010 and June 2019. A three-step search strategy involving an initial search of three databases to refine the keywords, a full search of all databases and screening of references of previous review studies for relevant articles missing from our full search will be employed. We will search AJOL, JSTOR, HINARI, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar and the websites for the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO and Guttmacher Institute. Two reviewers will screen the titles, abstracts and full texts of publications for eligibility and inclusion—using Covidence (an online software). We will then extract relevant information from studies that meet the inclusion criteria using a tailored extraction frame and template. Extracted data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results will be presented using tables and charts and summaries of key themes arising from available research findings.
Ethical approval is not required for a scoping review as it synthesises publicly available publications. Dissemination will be through publication in a peer-review journal and presentation at relevant conferences and convening of policymakers and civil society organisations working on ASRH in SSA.
Since the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the spread of the new coronavirus has been the focus of attention of scientists, governments and populations. One of the main concerns is the impact of this pandemic on health outcomes, mainly on mental health. Even though there are a few empirical studies on COVID-19 and mental health, so far, there is no systematic review about the impact of COVID-19 on mental health of young people and adults yet. We aim to critically synthesise the scientific evidence about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young people and adults.
A systematic review will be performed through eight databases: MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), ISI-of-Knowledge, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database), SCOPUS, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), PsycINFO (Psychology Information) and CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), from inception until 30 June 2020. No restriction regarding the publication date, setting or languages will be considered. Preliminary search strategies were carried out on 29 March 2020 and will be updated in June 2020. The primary outcomes will be the prevalence and the severity of psychological symptoms in young people and adults (>18 years old) resulting from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Study selection will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Pooled standardised mean differences and 95% CIs will be calculated. The risk of bias of the observational studies will be assessed through the Methodological Index for Non-Randomised Studies (MINORS). Additionally, if sufficient data are available, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Heterogeneity between the studies will be determined by the I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses will also be performed. Publication bias will be checked with funnel plots and Egger’s test. Heterogeneity will be explored by random-effects analysis.
Ethical assessment was not required. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and will be presented at conferences related to this field.
CRD42020177366.
Patients with paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) may develop a complicated disease course, including growth failure, bowel resection at young age and treatment-related adverse events, all of which can have significant and lasting effects on the patient’s development and quality of life. Unfortunately, we are still not able to fully explain the heterogeneity between patients and their disease course and predict which patients will respond to certain therapies or are most at risk of developing a more complicated disease course. To investigate this, large prospective studies with long-term follow-up are needed. Currently, no such European or Asian international cohorts exist. In this international cohort, we aim to evaluate disease course and which patients are most at risk of therapy non-response or development of complicated disease based on patient and disease characteristics, immune pathology and environmental and socioeconomic factors.
In this international prospective observational study, which is part of the PIBD Network for Safety, Efficacy, Treatment and Quality improvement of care (PIBD-SETQuality), children diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease
Medical ethical approval has been obtained prior to patient recruitment for all sites. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed scientific publications.
To compare the patterns of 18 physical and mental health comorbidities between people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) and people without diabetes and how these change by age, gender and deprivation over time between 2004 and 2014. Also, to develop a metric to identify most prevalent comorbidities in people with T2D.
Population-based cohort study.
Primary and secondary care, England, UK.
108 588 people with T2D and 528 667 comparators registered in 391 English general practices. Each patient with T2D aged ≥16 years between January 2004 and December 2014 registered in Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD practices was matched to up to five comparators without diabetes on age, gender and general practice.
Prevalence of 18 physical and mental health comorbidities in people with T2D and comparators categorised by age, gender and deprivation. Odds for association between T2D diagnosis and comorbidities versus comparators. A metric for comorbidities with prevalence of ≥5% and/or odds ≥2 in patients with T2D.
Overall, 77% of patients with T2D had ≥1 comorbidity and all comorbidities were more prevalent in patients with T2D than in comparators. Across both groups, prevalence rates were higher in older people, women and those most socially deprived. Conditional logistic regression models fitted to estimate (OR, 95% CI) for association between T2D diagnosis and comorbidities showed that T2D diagnosis was significantly associated with higher odds for all conditions including myocardial infarction (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.85 to 2.46); heart failure (OR 2.12, 1.84 to 2.43); depression (OR 1.75, 1.62 to 1.89), but non-significant for cancer (OR 1.12, 0.98 to 1.28). In addition to cardiovascular disease, the metric identified osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, anxiety, schizophrenia and respiratory conditions as highly prevalent comorbidities in people with T2D.
T2D diagnosis is associated with higher likelihood of experiencing other physical and mental illnesses. People with T2D are twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease as the general population. The findings highlight highly prevalent and under-reported comorbidities in people with T2D. These findings can inform future research and clinical guidelines and can have important implications on healthcare resource allocation and highlight the need for more holistic clinical care for people with recently diagnosed T2D.
by Qing Lin, Shari A. Price, John T. Skinner, Bin Hu, Chunling Fan, Kazuyo Yamaji-Kegan, Roger A. Johns
Resistin and resistin-like molecules are pleiotropic cytokines that are involved in inflammatory diseases. Our previous work suggested that resistin has the potential to be used as a biomarker and therapeutic target for human pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, data are limited on the distribution of resistin in healthy human organs. In this study, we used our newly developed anti-human resistin (hResistin) antibody to immunohistochemically detect the expression, localization, and intracellular/extracellular compartmentalization of hResistin in a full human tissue panel from healthy individuals. The potential cross reactivity of this monoclonal anti-hResistin IgG1 with normal human tissues also was verified. Results showed that hResistin is broadly distributed and principally localized in the cytoplasmic granules of macrophages scattered in the interstitium of most human tissues. Bone marrow hematopoietic precursor cells also exhibited hResistin signals in their cytoplasmic granules. Additionally, hResistin labeling was observed in the cytoplasm of nervous system cells. Notably, the cytokine activity of hResistin was illustrated by positively stained extracellular material in most human tissues. These data indicate that our generated antibody binds to the secreted hResistin and support its potential use for immunotherapy to reduce circulating hResistin levels in human disease. Our findings comprehensively document the basal expression patterns of hResistin protein in normal human tissues, suggest a critical role of this cytokine in normal and pathophysiologic inflammatory processes, and offer key insights for using our antibody in future pharmacokinetic studies and immunotherapeutic strategies.by Greg Boyce, Mohammad Shoeb, Vamsi Kodali, Terence Meighan, Jenny R. Roberts, Aaron Erdely, Michael Kashon, James M. Antonini
The goal of this study was to use liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to assess metabolic changes of two different diets in three distinct rat strains. Sprague-Dawley, Fischer 344, and Brown-Norway male rats were maintained on a high-fat, or regular diet for 24 weeks. Liver tissue was collected at 4, 12, and 24 weeks to assess global small molecule metabolite changes using high resolution accurate mass spectrometry coupled to ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. The results of the global metabolomics analysis revealed significant changes based on both age and diet within all three strains. Principal component analysis revealed that the influence of diet caused a greater variation in significantly changing metabolites than that of age for the Brown Norway and Fisher 344 strains, whereas diet had the greatest influence in the Sprague Dawley strain only at the 4-week time point. As expected, metabolites involved in lipid metabolism were changed in the animals maintained on a high fat diet compared to the regular diet. There were also significant changes observed in the concentration of Tri carboxylic acid cycle intermediates that were extracted from the liver of all three strains based on diet. The results of this study showed that a high fat diet caused significant liver and metabolic changes compared to a regular diet in multiple rat strains. The inbred Fisher 344 and Brown Norway rats were more metabolically sensitive to the diet changes than outbred Sprague Dawley strain. The study also showed that age, as was the case for Sprague Dawley, is an important variable to consider when assessing metabolic changes.by Tâmara Natasha Gonzaga de Andrade Santos, Givalda Mendonça da Cruz Macieira, Bárbara Manuella Cardoso Sodré Alves, Thelma Onozato, Geovanna Cunha Cardoso, Mônica Thaís Ferreira Nascimento, Paulo Ricardo Saquete Martins-Filho, Divaldo Pereira de Lyra Jr., Alfredo Dias de Oliveira Filho
AimsThis review aims to determine the prevalence of clinically manifested drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in hospitalized patients.
MethodsPubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Lilacs databases were used to identify articles published before June 2019 that met specific inclusion criteria. The search strategy was developed using both controlled and uncontrolled vocabulary related to the following domains: “drug interactions,” “clinically relevant,” and “hospital.” In this review, we discuss original observational studies that detected DDIs in the hospital setting, studies that provided enough data to allow us to calculate the prevalence of clinically manifested DDIs, and studies that described the drugs prescribed or provided DDI adverse reaction reports, published in either English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
ResultsFrom the initial 5,999 articles identified, 10 met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of clinically manifested DDIs was 9.2% (CI 95% 4.0–19.7). The mean number of medications per patient reported in six studies ranged from 4.0 to 9.0, with an overall average of 5.47 ± 1.77 drugs per patient. The quality of the included studies was moderate. The main methods used to identify clinically manifested DDIs were evaluating medical records and ward visits (n = 7). Micromedex® (27.7%) and Lexi-Comp® (27.7%) online reference databases were commonly used to detect DDIs and none of the studies evaluated used more than one database for this purpose.
ConclusionsThis systematic review showed that, despite the significant prevalence of potential DDIs reported in the literature, less than one in ten patients were exposed to a clinically manifested drug interaction. The use of causality tools to identify clinically manifested DDIs as well as clinical adoption of DDI lists based on actual adverse outcomes that can be identified through the implementation of real DDI notification systems is recommended to reduce the incidence of alert fatigue, enhance decision-making for DDI prevention or resolution, and, consequently, contribute to patient safety.
by Johanne M. Martens, Helena S. Stokes, Mathew L. Berg, Ken Walder, Shane R. Raidal, Michael J. L. Magrath, Andy T. D. Bennett
Pathogens pose a major risk to wild host populations, especially in the face of ongoing biodiversity declines. Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) can affect most if not all members of one of the largest and most threatened bird orders world-wide, the Psittaciformes. Signs of disease can be severe and mortality rates high. Its broad host range makes it a risk to threatened species in particular, because infection can occur via spill-over from abundant hosts. Despite these risks, surveillance of BFDV in locally abundant wild host species has been lacking. We used qPCR and haemagglutination assays to investigate BFDV prevalence, load and shedding in seven abundant host species in the wild in south-east Australia: Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans), Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius), Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus), Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), Blue-winged Parrots (Neophema chrysostoma), Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus) and Red-rumped Parrots (Psephotus haematonotus). We found BFDV infection in clinically normal birds in six of the seven species sampled. We focused our analysis on the four most commonly caught species, namely Crimson Rosellas (BFDV prevalence in blood samples: 41.8%), Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (20.0%), Blue-winged Parrots (11.8%) and Galahs (8.8%). Species, but not sex, was a significant predictor for BFDV prevalence and load. 56.1% of BFDV positive individuals were excreting BFDV antigen into their feathers, indicative of active viral replication with shedding. Being BFDV positive in blood samples predicted shedding in Crimson Rosellas. Our study confirms that BFDV is endemic in our study region, and can inform targeted disease management by providing comparative data on interspecies variation in virus prevalence, load and shedding.by Ymke J. Evers, Jill J. H. Geraets, Geneviève A. F. S. Van Liere, Christian J. P. A. Hoebe, Nicole H. T. M. Dukers-Muijrers
BackgroundDrug use during sex, ‘chemsex’, is common among men who have sex with men (MSM) and related to sexual and mental health harms. This study assessed associations between chemsex and a wide range of determinants among MSM visiting STI clinics to increase understanding of characteristics and beliefs of MSM practicing chemsex.
MethodsIn 2018, 785 MSM were recruited at nine Dutch STI clinics; 368 (47%) fully completed the online questionnaire. All participants reported to have had sex in the past six months. Chemsex was defined as using cocaine, crystal meth, designer drugs, GHB/GBL, ketamine, speed or XTC/MDMA during sex in the past six months. Associations between chemsex and psychosocial determinants, socio-demographics, sexual behaviour and using tobacco or alcohol were assessed by multivariable logistic regression analyses.
ResultsChemsex was reported by 44% of MSM (161/368) and was not associated with socio-demographics. Independent determinants were ‘believing that the majority of friends/sex partners use drugs during sex’ (descriptive norm) (aOR: 1.95, 95%CI: 1.43–2.65), ‘believing that sex is more fun when using drugs’ (attitude) (aOR: 2.06, 95%CI: 1.50–2.84), using tobacco (aOR: 2.65, 95%CI: 1.32–5.32), multiple sex partners (aOR: 2.69, 95%CI: 1.21–6.00), group sex (aOR: 4.65, 95%CI: 1.54–14.05) and using online dating platforms (aOR: 2.73, 95%CI: 1.13–6.62).
ConclusionMSM are likely to find themselves in distinct social networks where it is the norm to use drugs when having sex and pleasure is linked to chemsex. Health services should acknowledge the social influence and pleasurable experiences to increase acceptability of strategies aimed at minimizing the possible harms of chemsex.
by Caroline C. Chisenga, Samuel Bosomprah, Kalo Musukuma, Cynthia Mubanga, Obvious N. Chilyabanyama, Rachel M. Velu, Young Chan Kim, Arturo Reyes-Sandoval, Roma Chilengi
IntroductionThe re-emergence of vector borne diseases affecting millions of people in recent years has drawn attention to arboviruses globally. Here, we report on the sero-prevalence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue virus (DENV), mayaro virus (MAYV) and zika virus (ZIKV) in a swamp community in Zambia.
MethodsWe collected blood and saliva samples from residents of Lukanga swamps in 2016 during a mass-cholera vaccination campaign. Over 10,000 residents were vaccinated with two doses of Shanchol™ during this period. The biological samples were collected prior to vaccination (baseline) and at specified time points after vaccination. We tested a total of 214 baseline stored serum samples for IgG antibodies against NS1 of DENV and ZIKV and E2 of CHIKV and MAYV on ELISA. We defined sero-prevalence as the proportion of participants with optical density (OD) values above a defined cut-off value, determined using a finite mixture model.
ResultsOf the 214 participants, 79 (36.9%; 95% CI 30.5–43.8) were sero-positive for Chikungunya; 23 (10.8%; 95% CI 6.9–15.7) for Zika, 36 (16.8%; 95% CI 12.1–22.5) for Dengue and 42 (19.6%; 95% CI 14.5–25.6) for Mayaro. Older participants were more likely to have Zika virus whilst those involved with fishing activities were at greater risk of contracting Chikungunya virus. Among all the antigens tested, we also found that Chikungunya saliva antibody titres correlated with baseline serum titres (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = 0.222; p = 0.03).
ConclusionArbovirus transmission is occurring in Zambia. This requires proper screening tools as well as surveillance data to accurately report on disease burden in Zambia.
by Andrés C. Jiménez, John P. Anzola, Vicente García-Díaz, Rubén González Crespo, Liping Zhao
Calculating forward and inverse kinematics for robotic agents is one of the most time-intensive tasks when controlling the robot movement in any environment. This calculation is then encoded to control the motors and validated in a simulator. The feedback produced by the simulation can be used to correct the code or to implement the code can be implemented directly in the robotic agent. However, the simulation process executes instructions that are not native to the robotic agents, extending development time or making it preferable to validate the code directly on the robot, which in some cases might result in severe damage to it. The use of Domain-Specific Languages help reduce development time in simulation tasks. These languages simplify code generation by describing tasks through an easy-to-understand language and free the user to use a framework or programming API directly for testing purposes. This article presents the language PyDSLRep, which is characterized by the connection and manipulation of movement in mobile robotic agents in the V-Rep simulation environment. This language is tested in three different environments by twenty people, against the framework given by V-Rep, demonstrating that PyDSLRep reduces the average development time by 45.22%, and the lines of code by 76.40% against the Python framework of V-Rep.by Megan S. Barker, Emma M. Bidstrup, Gail A. Robinson, Nicole L. Nelson
Whether language information influences recognition of emotion from facial expressions remains the subject of debate. The current studies investigate how variations in emotion labels that are paired with expressions influences participants’ judgments of the emotion displayed. Static (Study 1) and dynamic (Study 2) facial expressions depicting eight emotion categories were paired with emotion labels that systematically varied in arousal (low and high). Participants rated the arousal, valence, and dominance of expressions paired with labels. Isolated faces and isolated labels were also rated. As predicted, the label presented influenced participants’ judgments of the expressions. Across both studies, higher arousal labels were associated with: 1) higher ratings of arousal for sad, angry, and scared expressions, and 2) higher ratings of dominance for angry, proud, and disgust expressions. These results indicate that emotion labels influence judgments of facial expressions.by Keisuke Maeda, Hiroya Yamada, Eiji Munetsuna, Ryosuke Fujii, Mirai Yamazaki, Yoshitaka Ando, Genki Mizuno, Hiroaki Ishikawa, Koji Ohashi, Yoshiki Tsuboi, Shuji Hashimoto, Nobuyuki Hamajima, Koji Suzuki
Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) inhibits the activity of thioredoxin (TXN), leading to increased oxidative stress. Expression of the TXNIP gene is regulated by DNA methylation. However, no study has reported the influence of lifestyle factors on TXNIP DNA methylation. Our goal was to determine the association between smoking habits and TXNIP DNA methylation levels in a Japanese population. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 417 subjects (180 males and 237 females) participating in a health examination. We used a pyrosequencing assay to determine TXNIP DNA methylation levels in leukocytes. The mean TXNIP DNA methylation level in current smokers (75.3%) was significantly lower than that in never and ex-smokers (never: 78.1%, p p = 0.013). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that the OR for TXNIP DNA hypomethylation was significantly higher in current smokers than that in never smokers, and significantly higher in current smokers with years of smoking ≥ 35 and Brinkman Index ≥ 600 compared to that in non-smokers. In conclusion, we found that current smokers had TXNIP DNA hypomethylation compared to never and ex-smokers. Moreover, long-term smoking and high smoking exposure also were associated with TXNIP DNA hypomethylation.by Céline Dard, Sébastien Bailly, Jean-Louis Pépin, Marie-Pierre Brenier-Pinchart, Hélène Fricker-Hidalgo, Marie Peeters, Hervé Pelloux, Renaud Tamisier
IntroductionSleepiness is the main clinical expression of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome resulting from upper airway collapse. Recent studies have discussed the fact that the presence of T. gondii cysts in the brain and the resulting biochemical and immunological mechanisms could be linked to neurobehavioral disorders. The aim of the present study was to explore the potential impact of chronic toxoplasmosis on sleepiness and on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity in OSA obese patients.
Materials and methodsA case control study on obese patients screened for OSA was performed. According to the sleep disorder and matched based on gender, age and body mass index (BMI), two groups of obese patients were selected from our sample collection database. All patients were tested for toxoplasmosis serological status measuring anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM levels. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were performed to assess the impact of chronic toxoplasmosis on sleepiness and OSA severity.
Results107 obese patients suffering from OSA were included in the study (median age: 53.3 years Interquartile range (IQR): [41.9–59.9]; median BMI: 39.4 kg/m2 IQR: [35.5–44.1], apnea-hypopnea index = 27.5 events/h [10.7–49.9]). Chronic toxoplasmosis was present in 63.4% and 70.7% of patients with or without sleepiness (p = 0.48), respectively and was not associated either to sleepiness (OR: 0.76, 95% CI: [0.52; 2.33], p = 0.64) or OSA severity (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: [0.51; 5.98] p = 0.37).
ConclusionAlthough chronic Toxoplasma infection in immunocompetent humans has been associated to several behavioral disorders or pathologies in recent literature, we demonstrate here that chronic toxoplasmosis is not associated to sleepiness and to sleep apnea syndrome severity in obese patients suspected of sleep apnea syndrome.
by Csaba Varga, Patience John, Martin Cooke, Shannon E. Majowicz
Nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS) causes a substantial health burden to human populations in Canada and worldwide. Exposure sources and demographic factors vary by location and can therefore have a major impact on salmonellosis clustering. We evaluated major NTS serotypes: S. Enteritidis (n = 620), S. Typhimurium (n = 150), S. Thompson (n = 138), and S. Heidelberg (n = 136) reported in the city of Toronto, Canada, between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2017. Cases were analyzed at the forward sortation area (FSA)—level (an area indicated by the first three characters of the postal code). Serotype-specific global and local clustering of infections were evaluated using the Moran's I method. Spatial and space-time clusters were investigated using Poisson and multinomial scan statistic models. Case-case analyses using a multinomial logistic regression model was conducted to compare seasonal and demographic factors among the different serotypes. High infection rate FSAs clustered in the central region of Toronto for S. Enteritidis, in the south-central region for S. Typhimurium, in north-west region for S. Thompson, and in the south-east region for S. Heidelberg. The relative risk ratio of S. Enteritidis infections was significantly higher in cases who reported travel outside of Ontario. The relative risk ratio of infections was significantly higher in summer for S. Typhimurium, and in fall for S. Thompson. The relative risk ratio of infection was highest for the 0–9 age group for S. Typhimurium, and the 20–39 age group for S. Heidelberg. Our study will aid public health stakeholders in designing serotype-specific geographically targeted disease prevention programs.
FreshRSS 