Search results

We evaluated the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), which includes two Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen formulations (TB1 and TB2), for detection of latent tuberculosis infection during pregnancy. Eight-hundred-twenty-nine Ethiopian pregnant women (5.9% HIV-positive) were tested with QFT-Plus, with bacteriological sputum analysis performed for women with clinically suspected tub

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sleep disturbance is a prominent complaint in cocaine and alcohol dependence. This controlled study evaluated differences of polysomnographic (PSG) sleep in cocaine- and alcohol-dependent subjects, and examined whether substance dependence interacts with age to alter slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison.SETTING: Los Angeles and

Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation and associated insulin resistance and metabolic abnormalities have been proposed as 'common soil' for diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This paper aimed to investigate the inflammatory profiles of DM and CVD and to distinguish their shared and specific markers. Methods: Based on the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort, total and differenti

To date, little is known about the effects of violence on the educational outcomes of adolescents in disadvantaged communities in South Africa. In response, self-report data were collected from a socioeconomically disadvantaged sample of 503 adolescents aged 10 to 18 participating in a child abuse prevention trial in the Eastern Cape. Adolescents were purposively selected in the trial. This study

This article explores the similarities between the two most successful Swedish films of the past years. Through a focus on the two elderly protagonists the article discusses how the films acknowledge challenges in these men’s lives and in both contemporary and past society, but effectively repackage any serious issue in a form that remains palatable to audiences in Sweden and internationally. Them

Hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) have been engineered to replace or augment the oxygen carrying capacity of erythrocytes. However, clinical results have generally been disappointing, in part due to the intrinsic oxidative toxicity of Hb. The most common HBOC starting material is adult human or bovine Hb. However, it has been suggested that fetal Hb may offer advantages due to decrease

Objective: The aim of the analysis is to assess the impact of privately employed migrant care workers (MCWs) on the burden of Italian family members who care for a disabled older person. Methods: EUROFAMCARE is a one-year prospective survey carried out to provide evidence on the availability and use of support services by family carers of older people in Europe. In Italy, 990 family caregivers wer

The analysis of stable isotopes assisted in identifying that groundwater in the Punata alluvial fan is mainly recharged by heavy flash floods, and the recharge from rainfall is of less importance. In addition, the hydrochemical analysis identified the Pucara River as the main source of recharge. Other streams in the north and northwest of the fan do not seem to contribute to the recharge. The hydr

Stomatopods have an elaborate visual system served by a retina that is unique to this class of pancrustaceans. Its upper and lower eye hemispheres encode luminance and linear polarization while an equatorial band of photoreceptors termed the midband detects color, circularly polarized light and linear polarization in the ultraviolet. In common with many malacostracan crustaceans, stomatopods have

Recent studies have focused on investigating different factors that may affect heart rate variability (HRV), pointing especially to the effects of age, gender and stress level. Other findings raise the importance of considering the respiratory frequency in the analysis of HRV signals. In this study, we evaluate the effect of several covariates on the parameters of a stochastic model for HRV. The d

Home energy management systems (HEMS), providing energy feedback and smart features through in-home displays, have the potential to support more sustainable household decisions concerning energy consumption. However, recent findings from European smart metering trials have reduced the optimism, suggesting only modest savings from energy feedback. In this paper, we investigate the potential of HEMS

A decision is the result of comparing one or more alternatives with respect to one or more criteria that we consider relevant to the decision. Decision making can be considered as one of the most important challenges that analysts and experts encounter to solve complex problems. In recent decades, different methods and algorithms have been presented to support decision making. Multi-criteria analy

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a more in-depth understanding of the factors influencing how young consumers value mobile payment services and to develop a conceptual model that describes this process. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis combined with interaction analysis was applied to empirical material consisting of nine focus group interviews with a total of 55 young ad

Displacement ventilation is a proven method of providing conditioned air to enclosed spaces with the aim to deliver good air quality and thermal comfort while reducing the amount of energy required to operate the system. Until now, the practical applications of displacement ventilation have been exclusive to providing ventilation and cooling to large open spaces with high ceilings. The provision o

The Ukrainian Shield and Voronezh Crystalline Massif constitute the Sarmatian segment of Baltica. Here, only a few mafic-ultramafic dykes and layered intrusions have been dated, recording early Statherian (ca. 1800–1750 Ma) ages. We have determined new U-Pb baddeleyite ages for the Novogol sill (1789 ± 2 Ma) and the Gremyachye intrusion (1781 ± 7 Ma), which fall within the previously established a

This chapter highlights the importance of collective conversations regarding how to navigate the complexity of positions, roles, stakes, interests and feelings that most researchers experience. The author explores a conversational format as a way of writing about affective reflexivity. The chapter departs in a PhD project focusing on the lived experiences of variations of sex characteristics, in o