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Summary Background The management of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a new priority action for the WHO End Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy. However, national guidelines on latent tuberculosis infection testing and treatment have not yet been developed in China. Here, we present the results from the 2-year follow-up of a study that aimed to track the development of active disease in individuals with latent tuberculosis infection, identify priority populations for latent infection management, and explore the most suitable latent infection diagnostic approach. Methods A population-based multicentre prospective study was done in four sites in rural China, between 2013 and 2015. The baseline survey in 2013 measured the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) and tuberculin skin test (TST) in eligible participants. During the follow-up phase between 2014–15, we assessed individuals who had tuberculosis infection at baseline (QFT-positivity or TST tuberculin reaction size [induration] of ≥10 mm) for the development of active disease through active case finding. Eligible participants included in follow-up survey had a birth date before June 1, 2008 (5 years or older in 2013), and continuous residence at the study site for 6 months or longer in the past year. Participants with current active tuberculosis at baseline survey were excluded. Findings Between Sept 1, 2013, and Aug 31, 2015, 7505 eligible participants (aged 5 years or older) were included in tuberculosis infection test positive cohorts (4455 were QFT positive, 6404 had TST induration ≥10 mm, and 3354 were positive for both tests) after baseline examination. During the 2-year follow-up period, 84 incident cases of active tuberculosis were diagnosed. Of participants who developed active tuberculosis, 75 were diagnosed with latent infection by QFT, 62 were diagnosed by TST, and 53 were diagnosed by both tests. An incidence rate of 0·87 (95% CI 0·68–1·07) per 100 person-years was observed for individuals who tested positive with QFT, 0·50 (0·38–0·63) per 100 person-years for those who tested positive with TST (p Interpretation Our results suggest that high-risk populations in communities in rural China, such as individuals at a high risk of disease reactivation from previous tuberculosis, should be targeted for latent infection screening and treatment with an interferon-γ releasing assay rather than a TST. Funding National Science and Technology Major Project of China, Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University of China, CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences, and Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen.

In this paper, TiO 2 nanorod arrays were prepared via seed-free and seed-assisted method and denoted as TA-SF and TA-SA respectively. TA-SF exhibited higher photoelectrochemical performance due to decreased resistance, prolonged electron lifetime obtained from electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). A novel photo-reduction method was then employed to deposit and manipulate the loading amount of Au decoration. The Au/TA-SF photoanodes were then used in photoelectrochemical cells and the influences of the Au loading amount on the PEC performances were studied in detail. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Au nanoparticle, charge transfer resistance was decreased and Au/TA-SF hybrid arrays exhibited improved photocurrent density compared with TA-SF arrays. Typically, Au/TA-SF exhibited higher photocurrent density of 1.1 mA/cm 2 , which is much higher than that of Au/TA-SA.

Well-designed agents for enhanced multimodal imaging have attracted great interests in recent years. In this work, we adopted a premix membrane emulsification (PME) method to prepare uniform PEGylated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microcapsules (MCs) with superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in the shell (Fe3O4@PEG-PLGA MCs) for ultrasound (US)/magnetic resonance (MR) bimodal imaging. Compared to Fe3O4@PLGA MCs without PEGylation, Fe3O4@PEG-PLGA MCs could more stably and homogeneously disperse in physiological solutions. In vitro and in vivo trials demonstrated that Fe3O4@PEG-PLGA MCs (∼3.7 μm) with very narrow size distribution (PDI=0.03) could function as efficient dual-modality contrast agents to simultaneously enhance US and MR imaging performance greatly. In vitro cell toxicity and careful histological examinations illustrated no appreciable cytotoxicity and embolism of Fe3O4@PEG-PLGA MCs to mice even at high dose. The uniform composite MCs developed here can act as clinical bimodal contrast agents to improve hybrid US/MR imaging contrast, which is promising for accurate diagnosis and real-time monitoring of difficult and complicated diseases.

Research demonstrates mindfulness training (MT) benefits military personnel by reducing stress [1] and maintaining working memory [2]. However, learning mindfulness meditation takes time and dedication to cultivate contemplative skills and face one’s personal struggles. This study investigated the personal characteristics of research volunteers who completed MT, taught in-person (IP) or in a Virtual World (VW), compared with those who did not complete training. Volunteers (n = 160) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Mindful Awareness and Attention Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military version before beginning MT. For the IP group, a higher percentage of females completed training than males. For the VW group, those who finished training were slightly older, more mindful, and did not meet the criteria for a presumptive diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The results suggest that women, those with PTSD, and those who are less mindful may complete and receive greater benefit from MT offered in-person.

An ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) plays a key role in ultrasound imaging to precisely diagnose coronary heart disease. Microcapsules composed of inner gas and shell materials are most commonly employed as ultrasound contrast agents. The ultrasonic properties of the microcapsules are significantly dependent on their size and size distribution. Herein, we prepared several uniform sized biodegradable polylactone microcapsules by combining a premix membrane emulsification technique and W/O/W method. We investigated various size-dependent factors to optimize the size and size distribution of the microcapsules. After evaluation for ultrasound imaging, ∼4 μm PLLA (poly(L-lactide)) microcapsules generated more intense ultrasound signals than PLGA7030 or PLGA5050 (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), the molar ratio of lactic acid and glycolic acid being 70:30 or 50:50), PEG-b-PLGA7030 (poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)), PLC5050 (poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone), the molar ratio of lactide and caprolactone being 50:50) and PEG-b-PLLA microcapsules. The signal duration of the PLLA and PEG-PLLA microcapsules could reach ca. 3 and 3.5 min continuously. The ultrasound signal intensity and duration of the signals of PLLA microcapsules were considerably stronger and longer than those of commercially available UCAs, showing that the PLLA microcapsules have a great potential as more efficient UCAs for biomedical imaging.

Personal resilience refers to the ability to constructively adjust and move forward with ones’ life following tragic events or situations. However, few studies have examined the characteristics of highly resilient active duty military or veterans. This study examined the relationships between personal resiliency scores (The Resiliency Scale), demographics, general Self-Reported Health (SRH), and health symptomatology (Patient Health Questionnaire-15) among 263 U.S. active duty and veteran service members. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations, an Analysis of Variance, and Regression Analysis were used with a significance level of 0.05. Results showed that active duty service members were more resilient than the veterans in this population (p < 0.05). Findings also demonstrated that a higher education level, longer time on active duty, higher SRH, and lower symptomology were correlated with (p < 0.05) and contributed to greater resilience [F(4, 258) = 26.18, p < 0.01), R2 = 0.54]. These results demonstrate the importance of health and education, perhaps pointing toward a protective qualities that may also include longer service time.

Two experiments are reported in which observers judged the sign and magnitude of surface curvature from shaded images of an indoor scene. The depicted surfaces were illuminated by an area light in the ceiling or floor, and the illumination was attenuated with distance in a physically correct manner. The displays were presented both with and without cast shadows, specular highlights and surface inter-reflections in all possible combinations. The overall pattern of results revealed a strong perceptual bias to interpret the images as convex rather than concave, and a weaker bias to prefer illumination from above rather than from below, though there were large individual differences in the relative strengths of these biases. For displays that did not contain cast shadows or specular highlights, the accuracy of observers' judgments about the sign of surface curvature was no greater than chance, but performance was significantly improved when those aspects of normal shading were included in the rendering model. An analysis of the apparent depth magnitudes revealed that convex surfaces produce much greater perceived depth than concave surfaces with comparable relief.

We have investigated the potential stages of visual processing at which adaptation may occur to a slanted surface produced by horizontal magnification. Predictions of three hypotheses were tested utilizing a property of depth from binocular disparity, namely that slant scales with distance. If adaptation occurs at the disparity level, then the after-effect expressed in units of horizontal magnification will be independent of the test distance. If adaptation occurs at either a perceived slant or mapping level, then the after-effect, expressed in units of slant, will be independent of the test distance. If adaptation is contingent on distance, then the after-effect will not transfer over distance. Subjects adapted to a stereo-defined slanted surface at a distance of 57 cm. The after-effect was measured with a test stimulus at a distance of 28, 57, 85, or 114 cm by means of a nulling method. When the after-effect was expressed in units of slant, we found that it was larger at the adapting distance than other test distances, and that the after-effect was constant at test distances different from the adaptation distance. These results suggest that two types of adaptation occurred, namely adaptation on a mapping/perception level and adaptation contingent on distance.

A frontoparallel plane viewed with unequal vertical magnification of the two ocular images appears rotated about a vertical axis (i.e., induced effect; Ogle, 1938). Several experiments were conducted to investigate changes in the visual system that occurred after adapting to the induced effect. Adaptation at 57 cm was tested using tall stimuli at various viewing distances to test for the adaptation of vertical size ratio (VSR) information and normalization of the slant percept. When aftereffects were expressed in units of slant, they were larger at 57 cm than other test distances and were not significantly different from each other at other distances. Short stimuli were used to test adaptation of eye position signals for azimuth. The aftereffects were in the opposite direction to those measured with tall stimuli. The combined results suggest that the visual system normalizes slant percepts based on the surface slant of the adaptation stimulus and when there is a conflict between VSR signals and eye position cues for azimuth that the primary eye position signal for azimuth is recalibrated toward the direction indicated by the binocular differential vertical magnification in the adaptation stimulus.