Differences in risk behaviours and HIV/STI prevalence between low-fee and medium-fee female sex workers in three provinces in China.

Objectives: To better understand risk behaviours and factors associated with low-fee female sex workers (FSW) and support HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STI) epidemic control among this key population in China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling to recruit 1487 eligible low-fee and medium-fee FSW was conducted in 2012 in three provinces. The participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and tested for HIV-1, herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 and syphilis antibody.

High vitamin A intake during pregnancy modifies dopaminergic reward system and decreases preference for sucrose in Wistar rat offspring.

High multivitamin (HV) content in gestational diets has long-term metabolic effects in rat offspring. These changes are associated with in utero modifications of gene expression in hypothalamic food intake regulation. However, the role of fat-soluble vitamins in mediating these effects has not been explored.

Payment Reform Pilot In Beijing Hospitals Reduced Expenditures And Out-Of-Pocket Payments Per Admission.

In 2009 China announced plans to reform provider payment methods at public hospitals by moving from fee-for-service (FFS) to prospective and aggregated payment methods that included the use of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to control health expenditures. In October 2011 health policy makers selected six Beijing hospitals to pioneer the first DRG payment system in China. We used hospital discharge data from the six pilot hospitals and eight other hospitals, which continued to use FFS and served as controls, from the period 2010-12 to evaluate the pilot's impact on cost containment through a difference-in-differences methods design.

The bifunctional μ opioid agonist/antioxidant [Dmt(1)]DALDA is a superior analgesic in an animal model of complex regional pain syndrome-type i.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the development of complex regional pain syndrome-Type I (CRPS-I), as also demonstrated with the chronic post ischemia pain (CPIP) animal model of CRPS-I. We show that morphine and the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) act synergistically to reduce mechanical allodynia in CPIP rats. The tetrapeptide amide [Dmt(1)]DALDA (H-Dmt-d-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2) is a potent and selective μ opioid receptor (MOR) agonist with favorable pharmacokinetic properties and with antioxidant activity due to its N-terminal Dmt (2',6'-dimethyltyrosine) residue.

HIV drug resistance testing by high-multiplex "wide" sequencing on the MiSeq instrument.

Limited access to HIV drug resistance testing in low- and middle-income countries impedes clinical decision-making at the individual patient level. An efficient protocol to address this issue must be established to minimize negative therapeutic outcomes for HIV-1-infected individuals in such settings. This is an observational study to ascertain the potential of newer genomic sequencing platforms, such as the Illumina MiSeq instrument, to provide accurate HIV drug resistance genotypes for hundreds of samples simultaneously.

Wirelessly powered, fully internal optogenetics for brain, spinal and peripheral circuits in mice.

To enable sophisticated optogenetic manipulation of neural circuits throughout the nervous system with limited disruption of animal behavior, light-delivery systems beyond fiber optic tethering and large, head-mounted wireless receivers are desirable. We report the development of an easy-to-construct, implantable wireless optogenetic device. Our smallest version (20 mg, 10 mm(3)) is two orders of magnitude smaller than previously reported wireless optogenetic systems, allowing the entire device to be implanted subcutaneously.

Global Database-Driven Assessment of HIV-1 Adaptation to the Immune Repertoires of Human Populations.

Associations between HIV-1 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) escape mutations and their restricting human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles imply that HIV could adapt to divergent HLA repertoires of human populations globally. Using publicly available databases, we examine the relationship between the frequencies of 19 experimentally validated CTL escape mutations in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and their restricting HLA alleles in 59 countries. From these extensive data, we find evidence of differential HIV adaptations to human populations at only a limited number of the studied epitope sites.

Repeatability of Central and Peripheral Pulse Wave Velocity Measures: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Background: Arterial stiffness measures are emerging tools for risk assessment and stratification for hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is an established measure of central arterial stiffness. Other measures of PWV include femoral-ankle (faPWV), a measure of peripheral stiffness, and brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), a composite measure of central and peripheral stiffness.

The Influence of Hepatitis C Virus Genetic Region on Phylogenetic Clustering Analysis.

Sequencing is important for understanding the molecular epidemiology and viral evolution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To date, there is little standardisation among sequencing protocols, in-part due to the high genetic diversity that is observed within HCV. This study aimed to develop a novel, practical sequencing protocol that covered both conserved and variable regions of the viral genome and assess the influence of each subregion, sequence concatenation and unrelated reference sequences on phylogenetic clustering analysis.

Development and Validation of Two Screening Assays for the Hepatitis C Virus NS3 Q80K Polymorphism Associated with Reduced Response to Combination Treatment Regimens Containing Simeprevir.

Persons with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1a (GT1a) infections harboring a baseline Q80K polymorphism in nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) have a reduced virologic response to simeprevir in combination with pegylated interferon-alfa and ribavirin. We aimed to develop, validate, and freely disseminate an NS3 clinical sequencing assay to detect the Q80K polymorphism and potentially other HCV NS3 drug resistance mutations. HCV RNA was extracted from frozen plasma using a NucliSENS easyMAG automated nucleic acid extractor, amplified by nested reverse transcription-PCR, and sequenced using Sanger and/or next-generation (MiSeq) methods.

Phylodynamic Inference with Kernel ABC and Its Application to HIV Epidemiology.

The shapes of phylogenetic trees relating virus populations are determined by the adaptation of viruses within each host, and by the transmission of viruses among hosts. Phylodynamic inference attempts to reverse this flow of information, estimating parameters of these processes from the shape of a virus phylogeny reconstructed from a sample of genetic sequences from the epidemic. A key challenge to phylodynamic inference is quantifying the similarity between two trees in an efficient and comprehensive way.

Is occupation a good predictor of self-rated health in China?

Background: China's rapidly changing economic landscape has led to widening social inequalities. Occupational status in terms of occupational type and prestige may reflect these socio-structural shifts of social position and be more predictive of self-rated health status than income and education, which may only reflect more gradual acquisitions of social status over time. The goals of this study were to understand the role of occupational status in predicting self-rated health, which is well known to be associated with long-term mortality, as well as compare the occupational status to the other major socioeconomic indicators of income and education.

A molecular phylogenetics-based approach for identifying recent hepatitis C virus transmission events.

Unlabelled: Improved surveillance methods are needed to better understand the current hepatitis C virus (HCV) disease burden and to monitor the impact of prevention and treatment interventions on HCV transmission dynamics. Sanger sequencing (HCV NS5B, HVR1 and Core-E1-HVR1) and phylogenetics were applied to samples from individuals diagnosed with HCV in British Columbia, Canada in 2011. This included individuals with two or three sequential samples collected <1 year apart.

Active resonance wavelength stabilization for silicon microring resonators with an in-resonator defect-state-absorption-based photodetector.

We propose and demonstrate active resonance wavelength stabilization for silicon microring resonators with an in-resonator defect-state-absorption (DSA)-based photodetector (PD) for optical interconnects. We integrate an electro-optic (EO) tuner and a thermo-optic (TO) tuner on the microring, which are both feedback-controlled following a photocurrent threshold-detection method. Our BF(2)-ion-implanted DSA-based PIN PD exhibits a cavity-enhanced sub-bandgap responsivity at 1550 nm of 3.

A gestational diet high in fat-soluble vitamins alters expression of genes in brain pathways and reduces sucrose preference, but not food intake, in Wistar male rat offspring.

High intakes of multivitamins (HV) during pregnancy by Wistar rats increase food intake, body weight, and characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in male offspring. In this study, high-fat soluble vitamins were fed in combination during gestation to test the hypothesis that they partially account for the effects of the HV diet. Pregnant Wistar rats (14-16/group) were fed a recommended multivitamin diet (1-fold all vitamins) or high-fat soluble vitamin diet (HFS; 10-fold vitamins A, D, E, and K) during pregnancy.

Higher Mortality in registrants with sudden model for end-stage liver disease increase: Disadvantaged by the current allocation policy.

Liver allocation is based on current Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores, with priority in the case of a tie being given to those waiting the longest with a given MELD score. We hypothesized that this priority might not reflect risk: registrants whose MELD score has recently increased receive lower priority but might have higher wait-list mortality. We studied wait-list and posttransplant mortality in 69,643 adult registrants from 2002 to 2013.

Blood flow in intracranial aneurysms treated with Pipeline embolization devices: computational simulation and verification with Doppler ultrasonography on phantom models.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to validate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of flow-diverter treatment through Doppler ultrasonography measurements in patient-specific models of intracranial bifurcation and side-wall aneurysms.

Methods: Computational and physical models of patient-specific bifurcation and sidewall aneurysms were constructed from computed tomography angiography with use of stereolithography, a three-dimensional printing technology. Flow dynamics parameters before and after flow-diverter treatment were measured with pulse-wave and color Doppler ultrasonography, and then compared with CFD simulations.

Prioritizing causal disease genes using unbiased genomic features.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the developed world. Human genetic studies, including genome-wide sequencing and SNP-array approaches, promise to reveal disease genes and mechanisms representing new therapeutic targets. In practice, however, identification of the actual genes contributing to disease pathogenesis has lagged behind identification of associated loci, thus limiting the clinical benefits.

Molecular profiling of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-O157 strains isolated from humans and cattle in Alberta, Canada.

Virulence markers in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and their association with diseases remain largely unknown. This study determines the importance of 44 genetic markers for STEC (O157 and non-O157) from human clinical cases and their correlation to disease outcome. STEC isolated from a cattle surveillance program were also included.

Silicon coupled-resonator optical-waveguide-based biosensors using light-scattering pattern recognition with pixelized mode-field-intensity distributions.

Chip-scale, optical microcavity-based biosensors typically employ an ultra-high-quality microcavity and require a precision wavelength-tunable laser for exciting the cavity resonance. For point-of-care applications, however, such a system based on measurements in the spectral domain is prone to equipment noise and not portable. An alternative microcavity-based biosensor that enables a high sensitivity in an equipment-noise-tolerant and potentially portable system is desirable.

Comparative associations of diabetes risk factors with five measures of hyperglycemia.

Objective: To compare the associations of diabetes mellitus risk factors with nontraditional markers of hyperglycemia (glycated albumin, fructosamine, 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG)) to those observed with traditional markers (fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: The community-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort.

Polyethylene glycol-fused allografts produce rapid behavioral recovery after ablation of sciatic nerve segments.

Restoration of neuronal functions by outgrowths regenerating at ∼1 mm/day from the proximal stumps of severed peripheral nerves takes many weeks or months, if it occurs at all, especially after ablation of nerve segments. Distal segments of severed axons typically degenerate in 1-3 days. This study shows that Wallerian degeneration can be prevented or retarded, and lost behavioral function can be restored, following ablation of 0.

Targeted deep sequencing reveals no definitive evidence for somatic mosaicism in atrial fibrillation.

Background: Studies of ≤15 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients have identified atrial-specific mutations within connexin genes, suggesting that somatic mutations may account for sporadic cases of the arrhythmia. We sought to identify atrial somatic mutations among patients with and without AF using targeted deep next-generation sequencing of 560 genes, including genetic culprits implicated in AF, the Mendelian cardiomyopathies and channelopathies, and all ion channels within the genome.

Methods And Results: Targeted gene capture and next-generation sequencing were performed on DNA from lymphocytes and left atrial appendages of 34 patients (25 with AF).