Grism fabricated on the end-face of an optical fiber.

We designed and fabricated grism structures on the end-face of an optical fiber and experimentally characterized them. A UV-curable ionic-liquid polymer resin, well-suited for nanoimprinting, was used to fabricate the grism structures with grating pitches of 1.8-3 µm and prism apex angle reaching 30-40°.

Increasing Pancreatic Cancer Incidence in Young Women in the United States: A Population-Based Time-Trend Analysis, 2001-2018.

Background & Aims: Previous studies have shown an increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer (PC), especially in younger women; however, this has not been externally validated. In addition, there are limited data about contributing factors to this trend. We report age and sex-specific time-trend analysis of PC age-adjusted incidence rates (aIRs) using the National Program of Cancer Registries database without Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results data.

Automatic Estimation of Self-Reported Pain by Trajectory Analysis in the Manifold of Fixed Rank Positive Semi-Definite Matrices.

We propose an automatic method to estimate self-reported pain based on facial landmarks extracted from videos. For each video sequence, we decompose the face into four different regions and the pain intensity is measured by modeling the dynamics of facial movement using the landmarks of these regions. A formulation based on Gram matrices is used for representing the trajectory of landmarks on the Riemannian manifold of symmetric positive semi-definite matrices of fixed rank.

Ceramic surface relief gratings imprinted on an optical fiber tip.

We report on the fabrication, experimental measurement, and numerical simulation of sol-gel diffraction grating structures deposited on the end-face of a single mode optical fiber. Using the imprint method, we manufactured surface relief grating structures in four configurations with different grating-relative-to-fiber arrangements. We demonstrate the high quality of the fabricated structures based on atomic force microscopy imaging and their operational characteristics, presenting measured and simulated far-field intensity distributions.

Antiretroviral Initiation at ≥800 CD4+ Cells/mm3 Associated With Lower Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reservoir Size.

Background: Identifying factors that determine the frequency of latently infected CD4+ T cells on antiretroviral therapy (ART) may inform strategies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cure. We investigated the role of CD4+ count at ART initiation for HIV persistence on ART.

Methods: Among participants of the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment Study, we enrolled people with HIV (PWH) who initiated ART with CD4+ T-cell counts of 500-599, 600-799, or ≥ 800 cells/mm3.

Automatic Estimation of Self-Reported Pain by Interpretable Representations of Motion Dynamics.

We propose an automatic method for pain intensity measurement from video. For each video, pain intensity was measured using the dynamics of facial movement using 66 facial points. Gram matrices formulation was used for facial points trajectory representations on the Riemannian manifold of symmetric positive semi-definite matrices of fixed rank.

The impact of viraemia on inflammatory biomarkers and CD4+ cell subpopulations in HIV-infected children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To determine the impact of virological control on inflammation and cluster of differentiation 4 depletion among HIV-infected children initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Methods: In a sub-study of the ARROW trial (ISRCTN24791884), we measured longitudinal HIV viral loads, inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein, tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble CD14) and (Uganda only) whole blood immunophenotype by flow cytometry in 311 Zimbabwean and Ugandan children followed for median 3.

Fall Detection of Elderly People Using the Manifold of Positive Semidefinite Matrices.

Falls are one of the most critical health care risks for elderly people, being, in some adverse circumstances, an indirect cause of death. Furthermore, demographic forecasts for the future show a growing elderly population worldwide. In this context, models for automatic fall detection and prediction are of paramount relevance, especially AI applications that use ambient, sensors or computer vision.

A Sparse and Locally Coherent Morphable Face Model for Dense Semantic Correspondence Across Heterogeneous 3D Faces.

The 3D Morphable Model (3DMM) is a powerful statistical tool for representing 3D face shapes. To build a 3DMM, a training set of face scans in full point-to-point correspondence is required, and its modeling capabilities directly depend on the variability contained in the training data. Thus, to increase the descriptive power of the 3DMM, establishing a dense correspondence across heterogeneous scans with sufficient diversity in terms of identities, ethnicities, or expressions becomes essential.

Pedestrian Crossing Decisions in Virtual Environments: Behavioral Validity in CAVEs and Head-Mounted Displays.

Objective: To contribute to the validation of virtual reality (VR) as a tool for analyzing pedestrian behavior, we compared two types of high-fidelity pedestrian simulators to a test track.

Background: While VR has become a popular tool in pedestrian research, it is uncertain to what extent simulator studies evoke the same behavior as nonvirtual environments.

Method: An identical experimental procedure was replicated in a CAVE automatic virtual environment (CAVE), a head-mounted display (HMD), and on a test track.

Teledermatology: idea, benefits and risks of modern age - a systematic review based on melanoma.

Telemedicine may be described as a modern technology supporting health care at a distance. Dermatology, as a visually-dependent specialty, is particularly suited for this kind of the health care model. This has been proven in a number of recent studies, which emphasized feasibility and reliability of teledermatology.

Computational MHC-I epitope predictor identifies 95% of experimentally mapped HIV-1 clade A and D epitopes in a Ugandan cohort.

Background: Identifying immunogens that induce HIV-1-specific immune responses is a lengthy process that can benefit from computational methods, which predict T-cell epitopes for various HLA types.

Methods: We tested the performance of the NetMHCpan4.0 computational neural network in re-identifying 93 T-cell epitopes that had been previously independently mapped using the whole proteome IFN-γ ELISPOT assays in 6 HLA class I typed Ugandan individuals infected with HIV-1 subtypes A1 and D.

Effect of Stopping Cotrimoxazole Preventive Therapy on Microbial Translocation and Inflammatory Markers Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Ugandan Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy: The COSTOP Trial Immunology Substudy.

Background: Cotrimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a World Health Organization-recommended standard of care in resource-limited settings, but the mechanism of CPT's beneficial effects is unclear. The COSTOP trial (ISRCTN44723643) evaluated the noninferiority of discontinuing CPT in stabilized patients on antiretroviral therapy. The COSTOP immunology substudy was conducted on a subset of COSTOP participants randomized to continue CPT (n = 86) or discontinue CPT (placebo, n = 86) as daily treatment for 1 year.

Effect of high-intensity versus low-intensity praziquantel treatment on HIV disease progression in HIV and co-infected patients: a randomised controlled trial.

It has been hypothesised that co-infection exacerbates HIV progression, and hence anthelminthic intervention in co-infected individuals will delay it. We evaluated effects of high-intensity versus low-intensity praziquantel treatment of schistosomiasis on HIV disease progression among co-infected patients from fishing populations around Lake Victoria, Uganda. : Between August 2012 and September 2015, we conducted an open-label randomised, controlled trial.

Baseline Inflammatory Biomarkers Identify Subgroups of HIV-Infected African Children With Differing Responses to Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: Identifying determinants of morbidity and mortality may help target future interventions for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children.

Methods: CD4(+) T-cell count, HIV viral load, and levels of biomarkers (C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α], interleukin 6 [IL-6], and soluble CD14) and interleukin 7 were measured at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in the ARROW trial (case-cohort design). Cases were individuals who died, had new or recurrent World Health Organization clinical stage 4 events, or had poor immunological response to ART.

Effect of Schistosoma mansoni Infection on Innate and HIV-1-Specific T-Cell Immune Responses in HIV-1-Infected Ugandan Fisher Folk.

In Uganda, fisher folk have HIV prevalence rates, about four times higher than the national average, and are often coinfected with Schistosoma mansoni. We hypothesized that innate immune responses and HIV-specific Th1 immune responses might be downmodulated in HIV/S. mansoni-coinfected individuals compared with HIV+/S.

Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1 Beta and Interferon Gamma Responses in Ugandans with HIV-1 Acute/Early Infections.

Control of HIV replication through CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells might be possible, but the functional and phenotypic characteristics of such cells are not defined. Among cytokines produced by T cells, CCR5 ligands, including macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta (MIP-1β), compete for the CCR5 coreceptor with HIV, promoting CCR5 internalization and decreasing its availability for virus binding. Interferon (IFN)-γ also has some antiviral activity and has been used as a read-out for T cell immunogenicity.

Schistosoma mansoni and HIV acquisition in fishing communities of Lake Victoria, Uganda: a nested case-control study.

Objective: It has been suggested that Schistosoma mansoni, which is endemic in African fishing communities, might increase susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition. If confirmed, this would be of great public health importance in these high HIV-risk communities. This study was undertaken to determine whether S.

Everyday-like memory for objects in ageing and Alzheimer's disease assessed in a visually complex environment: The role of executive functioning and episodic memory.

To investigate everyday memory, more and more studies rely on virtual-reality applications to bridge the gap between in situ approaches and laboratory settings. In this vein, the present study was designed to assess everyday-like memory from the virtual reality-based Human Object Memory for Everyday Scenes (HOMES) test (Sauzéon et al., , Exp.

3-D Human Action Recognition by Shape Analysis of Motion Trajectories on Riemannian Manifold.

Recognizing human actions in 3-D video sequences is an important open problem that is currently at the heart of many research domains including surveillance, natural interfaces and rehabilitation. However, the design and development of models for action recognition that are both accurate and efficient is a challenging task due to the variability of the human pose, clothing and appearance. In this paper, we propose a new framework to extract a compact representation of a human action captured through a depth sensor, and enable accurate action recognition.

Quantitative and qualitative differences in the T cell response to HIV in uninfected Ugandans exposed or unexposed to HIV-infected partners.

HIV-exposed and yet persistently uninfected individuals have been an intriguing, repeated observation in multiple studies, but uncertainty persists on the significance and implications of this in devising protective strategies against HIV. We carried out a cross-sectional analysis of exposed uninfected partners in a Ugandan cohort of heterosexual serodiscordant couples (37.5% antiretroviral therapy naive) comparing their T cell responses to HIV peptides with those of unexposed uninfected individuals.

Executive and memory correlates of age-related differences in wayfinding performances using a virtual reality application.

The aim of this study was to evaluate in large-scale spaces wayfinding and spatial learning difficulties for older adults in relation to the executive and memory decline associated with aging. We compared virtual reality (VR)-based wayfinding and spatial memory performances between young and older adults. Wayfinding and spatial memory performances were correlated with classical measures of executive and visuo-spatial memory functions, but also with self-reported estimates of wayfinding difficulties.

[Lyell's syndrome: proposal for a therapeutic protocol].

Toxic epidermal necrolysis or Lyell's syndrome is a life-threatening, drug-induced disorder characterized by severe epidermal injury. Although plasmapheresis is expensive and requires easy venous access, it could be included in the first-line treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis. The method is safe and effective, providing prompt relief from pain and rapid cessation of necrolysis.