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Brueclla is a gram negative bacteria that causes Brucellosis. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) ", the pathogenic agent of Brucella is composed of O-chain, core oligosaccharide and lipid A. in addition, the structural and biological properties of different LPS extracted from different strains are not identical. The first defense system against LPS is nonspecific immunity that causes macrophage activation. Activated macrophages produce oxygen and nitrogen radicals that enhance the protection against intracellular pathogens.In this experiment LPS was extracted by hot phenol- water procedure and the effect of various LPSs on nitric oxide prodution by peritoneal mouse macrophages was examined.Our results demonstrated that the effect of LPS on nitric oxide production is concentration-dependent we observed the maximum response in concentration of 10-20 microgram per milliliter. Also our results demonstrate that LPS extracted from vaccine Brucella abortus (S 19) had a highe effect on nitric oxide production than the LPS from other strains

Stage-specifci developmental forms of Lesihmania major promastigotes were grown in vitro. Procyclic and metacyclic promastigotes were cultured and separated by peanut agglutinin. The axenic amastigote form were prepared by culturing the promastigotes in acidic medium at 35C.These three forms of parasites were used as antigens to study cytokine production in whole blood culture of healthy individuals (no= 13) and early IFN-γ and LI-10 production were determined by specific sandwich ELISA. The results showed that logarithmic promastigotes were more potent to induce IFN-γ production than metacyclic and axenic amastlgotes parasites. In contrast, LI-10 production was significantly higher in supernatants of cells stimulated by the two infective forms. In addition, the adjuvant effect of BCG on cytokine production induced by these three types of promastigotes was studied. BCG showed augmenting effect on cytokine production, however three were still differences between logarithmic and the two other forms since logarithmic parasites still induced higher amount of IFN-γ and lower amount of LI-10 These results demonstrated that logarithmic promastigotes of L. major are more potent to induce T helper 1 response which might have implication in vaccine preparation.

Background Mental health services are available for young people involved with the criminal justice system. However, they have unmet mental health needs after the expiration of criminal justice supervision.Objective To determine the incidence rate and identify predictors of psychiatric hospitalisations within 24 months after the expiration of criminal justice supervision among young people involved with the New South Wales (NSW) criminal justice system.Methods Retrospective data from 1556 individuals aged 14–22 years who participated in four surveys of justice-involved young people in NSW were harmonised and linked to four NSW data collections. We calculated the incidence rates of psychiatric hospitalisations within 24 months postsupervision and identified predictors of these hospitalisations using a competing risks regression analysis.Results Within 24 months postsupervision, 11.4% had a psychiatric hospitalisation compared with 3.5% during supervision. 20.7% of those admitted had a known history of mental illness and engaged with community-based and outpatient mental health services postsupervision. Predictors of psychiatric hospitalisations were: female sex (adjusted subdistribution HR (asHR) 1.84, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.73); previous incarceration (highest asHR for ≥4 episodes 1.67, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.78); head injury (asHR 1.63, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.21); personality disorder (asHR 3.66, 95% CI 2.06 to 6.48) and alcohol and substance use disorder (asHR 1.89, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.77).Conclusion Justice-involved youth have higher rates of psychiatric admissions after criminal justice supervision. Engagement with mental health services postsupervision is important in addressing emerging or persisting mental health needs.

Abstract This study proposes the use of vinasse, an inexpensive and readily available waste biopolymer, as a fundamental component of a waste culture medium that can enhance the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) method for sustainable soil improvement. Vinasse enriched with urea, sodium caseinate, or whey protein concentrate is employed to optimize bacterial growth and urease activity of Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) bacterium. The best culture medium is analyzed using Taguchi design of experiments (TDOE) and statistical analysis, considering the concentration of vinasse and urea as effective parameters during growth time. To test the best culture medium for bio-treated soil, direct shear tests were performed on loose and bio-treated sand. The results demonstrate a substantial cost reduction from $0.455 to $0.005 per liter when using the new culture medium (vinasse and urea) compared to the conventional Nutrient Broth (NB) culture medium. Additionally, the new medium enhances soil shear strength, increasing the friction angle by 2.5 degrees and cohesion to 20.7 kPa compared to the conventional medium. Furthermore, the recycling of vinasse as a waste product can promote the progress of a circular economy and reduce environmental pollution. As ground improvement is essential for many construction projects, especially those that require high shear strength or are built on loose soil, this study provides a promising approach to achieving cost-effective and sustainable soil microbial improvement using enriched vinasse.

Introduction: Adolescents living with HIV are subject to multiple co-morbidities, including growth retardation and immunodeficiency. We describe growth and CD4 evolution during adolescence using data from the Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER) globalproject. Methods: Data were collected between 1994 and 2015 from 11 CIPHER networks worldwide. Adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV infection (APH) who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) before age 10 years, with at least one height or CD4 count measurement while aged 10-17 years, were included. Growth was measured using height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ, stunting if Results: A total of 20,939 and 19,557 APH were included for the growth and CD4 analyses, respectively. Half were females, two-thirds lived in East and Southern Africa, and median age at ART initiation ranged from 7 years in sub-Saharan African regions. At age 10, stunting ranged from 6% in North America and Europe to 39% in the Asia-Pacific; 19% overall had CD4 counts Conclusions: Growth patterns during adolescence differed substantially by sex and region, while CD4 patterns were similar, with an observed CD4 decline that needs further investigation. Early diagnosis and timely initiation of treatment in early childhood to prevent growth retardation and immunodeficiency are critical to improving APH growth and CD4 outcomes by the time they reach adulthood. Keywords: adolescent; CD4; cohort studies; growth; HIV; perinatally acquired Additional information may be found under the Supporting Information tab of this article., 1 | INTRODUCTION In 2019, an estimated 1.7 million adolescents aged 10-19 years were living with HIV worldwide, with 90% of them in sub-Saharan Africa, and 8% in Asia and [...]

Despite improvements in HIV testing and earlier antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in children living with HIV through the years, a considerable proportion start treatment with advanced disease. We studied characteristics of children and adolescents living with HIV and their level of immunodeficiency at ART initiation using data from a multi-country Asian cohort. We included children and adolescents who were ART-naïve and

BackgroundAn association exists between psychosis and criminal offending, which evidence suggests can be reduced by effective mental health care for this vulnerable population. However mental health services often lose contact with people after diagnosis. The association between the first episode of psychosis and criminal offending highlights the need for effective mental health care for this vulnerable population.AimsTo investigate the association between the first diagnosis of psychosis (FDP) in prison or hospital and subsequent mental health service contact following release from prison or discharge from hospital.Materials and methodsIndividuals with a FDP either in prison (n = 492) or hospital setting (n = 24,910) between July 2006 and December 2011 in NSW (Australia), were followed post-release or discharge until their first mental health service contact in the community, the occurrence of an offence, death, or completion of the study period at the end of December 2012. Cox regression models were used to examine the predictors for the mental health service contacts following release or discharge.ResultsOver 70% of those with a FDP in prison or hospital had a psychosis-related or any community-based mental health service contact following release or discharge between July 2006 and December 2012. Those with a FDP in prison were more likely to have no contact with mental health services than those in hospital with no prior offence record (hazard ratio, HR = 3.14, 95% CI: 2.66–3.72 and adjusted hazard ratio, aHR = 3.05, 95% CI: 2.56–3.63) within a median follow-up time of 25 days for the prison group and 26 days for hospital group. Males, individuals of Aboriginal heritage and individuals diagnosed with substance-related psychoses compared to those with schizophrenia and related psychoses were less likely to have a mental health service contact following release or discharge in both the univariable and multivariable analysis.ConclusionThis study suggests that prior offending or a previous prison episode represents a barrier to mental health service contact in the community for those with a FDP. Effective rehabilitation planning while exiting prison and discharge planning from hospital are essential to the successful reintegration of these individuals with a FDP.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is a major cause of morbidity after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In large patient populations, we have shown a CD56bright natural killer (NK) population to strongly associate with a lack of cGvHD and we hypothesize that these cells function to suppress cGvHD. We aimed to isolate and define the characteristics of regulatory NK (NKreg) cells associated with suppression of cGvHD. Immunophenotypic evaluation of a large pediatric population found the CD56bright NK population associated with a lack of cGvHD to be perforin-, Granzyme B-, and CD335+. Transcriptome analysis of a small patient cohort of CD56bright compared to CD56dim NK cells found the NKreg cells to also overexpress Granzyme K, IL-7R, GPR183, RANK, GM-CSFR, TCF7, and IL23A. Further analysis of this CD56bright NKreg population found a subpopulation that overexpressed IRF1, and TNF. We also found that viable NKreg cells may be isolated by sorting on CD56+ and CD16- NK cells, and this population can suppress allogeneic CD4+ T cells, but not Treg cells or CD8+ T cells through a non-cytolytic, cell-cell contact dependent mechanism. Suppression was not reliant upon the NKp44, NKp46, or GPR183 receptors. Additionally, NKreg cells do not kill leukemic cells. Moreover, this is the first paper to clearly establish that a CD56brightCD3-CD16-perforin- NKreg population associates with a lack of cGvHD and has several unique characteristics, including the suppression of helper T-cell function in vitro. With further investigation we may decipher the mechanism of NKreg suppression and operationalize expansion of NKreg cells associated with cGvHD suppression.

Introduction: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) projections of paediatric HIV prevalence and deaths rely on the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (leDEA) consortium for mortality estimates among children living with HIV (CHIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Previous estimates, based on data through 2014, may no longer be accurate due to expanded paediatric HIV care and treatment eligibility, and the possibility of unreported deaths in CHIV considered lost to follow-up (LTFU). We therefore estimated all-cause mortality and its trends in CHIV ( Methods: We analysed (i) leDEA observational data from CHIV in routine care globally, and (ii) novel data from an leDEA tracing study that determined outcomes in a sample of CHIV after being LTFU in southern Africa. We included 45,711 CHIV on ART during 2004 to 2017 at 72 programmes in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. We used mixed effects Poisson regression to estimate mortality by age, sex, CD4 at ART start, time on ART, region and calendar year. For Africa, in an adjusted analysis that accounts for unreported deaths among those LTFU, we first modified the routine data by simulating mortality outcomes within six months after LTFU, based on a Gompertz survival model fitted to the tracing data (n = 221). Results: Observed mortality rates were 1.8 (95% CI: 1.7 to 1.9) and 9.4 (6.3 to 13.4) deaths per 100 person-years in the routine and tracing data, respectively. We found strong evidence of higher mortality at shorter ART durations, lower CD4 values, and in infancy. Averaging over covariate patterns, the adjusted mortality rate was 54% higher than the unadjusted rate. In unadjusted analyses, mortality reduced by an average 60% and 73% from 2005 to 2017, within and outside of Africa, respectively. In the adjusted analysis for Africa, this temporal reduction was 42%. Conclusions: Mortality rates among CHIV have decreased substantially over time. However, when accounting for worse outcomes among those LTFU, mortality estimates increased and temporal improvements were slightly reduced, suggesting caution in interpreting analyses based only on programme data. The improved and updated leDEA estimates on mortality among CHIV on ART support UNAIDS efforts to accurately model global HIV statistics. Keywords: antiretroviral therapy; HIV; mortality; tracing; trends; under-ascertainment, 1 | INTRODUCTION Accurate estimates of the number of children living with HIV (CHIV) are essential for programme planning and resource allocation [1,2]. Further, the number of deaths among CHIV [...]

Introduction: The third of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets is to achieve a 90% rate of viral suppression (HIV viral load Methods: We considered three possible distributions for viral loads in ART patients: Weibull, Pareto and reverse Weibull (imposing an upper limit but no lower limit on the log scale). The models were fitted to data on viral load distributions in ART patients in the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) collaboration (representing seven global regions) and the ART Cohort Collaboration (representing Europe), using separate random effects models for adults and children. The models were validated using data from the World Health Organization (WHO) HIV drug resistance report and the Brazilian national ART programme. Results: Models were calibrated using 921,157 adult and 37,431 paediatric viral load measurements, over 2010-2019. The Pareto and reverse Weibull models provided the best fits to the data, but for all models, the 'shape' parameters for the viral load distributions differed significantly between regions. The Weibull model performed best in the validation against the WHO drug resistance survey data, while the Pareto model produced uncertainty ranges that were too narrow, relative to the validation data. Based on these analyses, we recommend using the reverse Weibull model. For example, if a country reports an 80% rate of viral suppression at Conclusions: Estimates of viral suppression can change substantially depending on the threshold used in defining viral suppression. It is, therefore, important that viral suppression rates are standardized to the same threshold for the purpose of assessing progress towards UNAIDS targets. We have proposed a simple adjustment that allows this, and this has been incorporated into UNAIDS modelling software. Keywords: antiretroviral therapy; HIV; viral load, 1 | INTRODUCTION Antiretroviral treatment (ART) is highly effective in preventing the replication of HIV, which is crucial to restoring the immune systems of people living with HIV [1], improving [...]

تُعدُّ دراسة جوانب القرآن اللغوية إحدي أهمّ مجالات البحث حول القرآن الكريم؛ والقرآن هو الذي تحدّي البشر لدي نزوله كي يأتوا بآية مِن مثله، ولكنّهم ما استطاعوا إلي ذلك سبيلا. بحثَ العلماء والخبراء في القرآن لغةً، وتفسيراً، وبلاغةً، ولساناً، ولهجاتٍ، وغيرها في شتّي المجالات، لكنّ دراسة جوانب إعجاز القرآن لم تنل حقّها من بين الدراسات الأخري حتي يومنا الراهن، ولذا قمنا باستعانة المنهج الوصفي كي نبين الإعجاز اللغوي في سورة القمر علي سبيل المثال ــــــ لا الحصر. وبعد دراسة أنواع الكلمة في هذه السورة اسماً، وفعلاً، وحرفاً توصلت الدراسة إلي أنّ للقرآن الكريم في كلّ سورة حسبَ موضوعها، هدفاً وإطاراً فكرياً يختار كلمةً تتناسب مع السياق، وتتماسك مع المضمون السائد في كلّ سورة. فقد تؤدّي الكلمة مِن حيث صياغتها الصرفيه دوراً مميزاً في هذا التناغم الشكلي والمضموني. ونجد هذه الميزة المحيرة بوضوحٍ صارخ في سورة القمر؛ بحيث قد أدّت المفردة دورَها في أداء المعني المقصود بشكل ناجح، لا يمكن أن تؤدِّي هذا المهمّ أيّةُ مفردة أخري، كما لا يمكن وضع كلمة موضعَ أخري، لتؤدي المقصود الذي أراده القرآن كي يقرعَ به أسماعَ مَن خوطبوا به.

Coprinus cinereus (NBRC 30628) peroxidase was implemented to eliminate the diazo dye of reactive black 5 (RB5). The optimization was conducted in batch mode using three approaches, i.e., the one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT), factorial design, and response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the results of the OFAT method, the optimum conditions for decolorization of RB5 dye were at a temperature of 30°C, a pH of 9-10, an H2O2 concentration of 3.9 mM, and an RB5 concentration of 40 mg/L. In the first stage of statistical optimization, these factors plus enzyme activity were screened by the 2-factorial design, wherein enzyme activity, temperature, and hydrogen peroxide concentration were distinguished as the most significant parameters in the enzymatic decolorization of RB5. In the second stage, RSM was applied over three adopted factors through the central composite design (CCD), and a reduced cubic polynomial model was generated, which indicated an accurate regression (R² = 0.997, Adj.R² = 0.994) and no significant lack of fit (p-value> 0.05). The contour and surface plots suggested that the removal efficiency was enhanced by increased enzyme activity and decreased H2O2 concentration and temperature. The optimum condition was obtained at 1.0 mM H2O2, 6 U/mL enzyme activity, and 35°C for a maximum decolorization efficiency of 96.046%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Evidence from past wars of human history and the present century presents undeniable examples revealing the importance of civil defense. In Iran, there have been numerous attacks with a variety of chemical gases during the eight years of the battle with Iraq. In addition, unintended accidents during earthquakes, hurricanes, and car accidents while transporting chemicals and chemical gases, although rare, are inevitable. For example, large-scale chlorine gas emissions have occurred. Because these events are rare, ED personnel are often not prepared enough to play an effective role in such situation, especially in the early golden hours after their happening. Due to lack of observation and repetition, preparedness of medical centers in terms of equipment and trained staff after the occurrence of attacks and accidents is a basic necessity. According to its inherent duties, Iranian civil defense organization is responsible for training and taking action to prepare hospital staff. This project, supported by this organization, aims to report how to confront with an accident or chemical attack in Loghman Hakim Hospital, a tertiary referral center for poisonings in Tehran, Iran, in 2019. Materials and Methods: This project was performed as a maneuver with participation of 65 physicians, hospital personnel, and students at Loghman Hakim Hospital affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Initially, training workshops were held to raise the awareness and preparedness of the members of the crisis team and all active staff using existing texts and instructions. Then, a designed imaginary scenario was presented and acted as a maneuver on a non-holiday day between 9.30 AM and 4 PM. Results: Sixty-five physicians, hospital staff, and students attended the maneuver. The findings are reported in three levels of A: directorship and management level reaching almost 70% of its goals; B: operational level reaching about 70% of its goals, and C: termination of the maneuver and initiation of rehabilitation reaching almost 40% of its goals. Conclusion: The maneuver was performed with almost 65% of the aims reached. Physicians and staff readiness was assessed to be moderate. Lack of equipment was undeniably obvious, especially in decontamination tools and protective clothing for employees. In general, our referral center of poisoning is not prepared enough to deal with any chemical accident or attack if it happens. More attention is needed to chemical accident/attack preparedness at least in all referral centers for clinical poisoning throughout the country. Ethical code: IR.SBMU.RETECH.REC.1398.467. DOI: http://doi.org/10.22037/ch.v7i3.30474

Abstract Folklore culture and literature have long been linked to the ancient beliefs and views of human societies, Hence, it has become a magnificent asset that is a reminder of the artistic tastes and moods of the people of the past and a solid evidence of the national and cultural identity of human beings. One of the elements of popular culture, folk beliefs and beliefs that has existed in the culture of most nations for so long, has been examined by each ethnicity in accordance with their culture and beliefs. Bidel Dehlavi is one of the poets who has explored these beliefs and opinions in the Indian subcontinent. Bidel's sonnets have the potential to be examined and analyzed; thus, in this descriptive-analytic study using library tools, the authors intend to explore the scope of these fascinating beliefs and dimensions, and the extents and instances of elements of popular culture in the poetry of Dehlavi. The result of this study shows that Bidel Dehlavi, with his scientific, religious and social abilities and skills, applied folklore elements and popular beliefs in the form of imagination in his sonnets while at the same time taking the roots and texture of these rhetorical forms from the language of the people and has added belief to his imaginative and literary artworks to the extent that he has permitted scholars to identify the intellectual origins of his poetry. Research aims: 1- The examination of natural and visual elements in Bidel Dehlavi's sonnets. 2- The investigation of popular beliefs and principles in the form of imagination in Bidel Dehlavi's sonnets. Research questions: 1- How is the natural and visual reflection reflected in Bidel Dehlavi's sonnets? 2. How are the popular beliefs, dimensions, and instances of elements of popular literature expressed in Bidel Dehlavi poetry?

Introduction: The clinical relevance of low-level viraemia (LLV) and virological outcomes among children living with HIV (CLHIV) remains controversial. This study aimed to determine the impact of LLV on virological failure (VF) among Asian CLHIV on first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Methods: CLHIV aged 14 days, or received treatment and care at sites with a pVL lower limit of detection >50 copies/mL were excluded. LLV was defined as a pVL 50 to 1000 copies/mL, and VF as a single pVL >1000 copies/mL. Baseline was the time of the second pVL < 50 copies/mL. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to assess the association between LLV and VF. Results: From January 2008 to September 2016, 508 CLHIV (55% female) were eligible for the study. At baseline, the median age was 9.6 (IQR: 7.0 to 12.3) years, cART duration was 1.4 (IQR: 1.3 to 1.8) years, 97% of CLHIV were on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens, and the median CD4 was 25% (IQR: 20% to 30%). Over a median follow-up time of 6.0 (IQR: 3.1 to 8.9) years from baseline, 86 CLHIV (17%) had ever experienced LLV, of whom 32 (37%) had multiple LLV episodes. Female sex, living in Malaysia (compared to Cambodia), having family members other than biological parents/grandparents as a primary caregiver, and baseline CD4 < 25% increased risk of LLV. Overall, 115 children (23%) developed VF, corresponding to a rate of 4.0 (95%CI: 3.4 to 4.9) per 100 person-years of follow-up (PYFU). VF was greater among children who had ever experienced LLV compared with those who maintained virological suppression throughout the study period (8.9 vs. 3.3 per 100 PYFU; p < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, ever experiencing LLV was associated with increased risk of subsequent VF (adjusted hazard ratio: 3.01; 95%CI: 1.97 to 4.60). Conclusions: LLV increased the risk of subsequent VF among Asian CLHIV who had previously been suppressed on first-line cART. Adherence interventions and additional targeted pVL monitoring may be warranted among children with LLV to facilitate early detection of VF. Keywords: viraemia; viral blip; viral rebound; paediatric; treatment failure; Asia, 1 | INTRODUCTION HIV plasma viral load (pVL) is an important tool to monitor treatment response and assess medication adherence in people living with HIV. One of the primary aims [...]

Introduction: Stunting is a key issue for adolescents with perinatally acquired HIV (APH) that needs to be better understood. As part of the IeDEA multiregional consortium, we described growth evolution during adolescence for APH on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: We included data from sub-Saharan Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and the Caribbean, Central and South America regions collected between 2003 and 2016. Adolescents on ART, reporting perinatally acquired infection or entering HIV care before 10 years of age, with at least one height measurement between 10 and 16 years of age, and followed in care until at least 14 years of age were included. Characteristics at ART initiation and at 10 years of age were compared by sex. Correlates of growth defined by height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) between ages 10 and 19 years were studied separately for males and females, using linear mixed models. Results: Overall, 8737 APH were included, with 46% from Southern Africa. Median age at ART initiation was 8.1 years (interquartile range (IQR) 6.1 to 9.6), 50% were females, and 41% were stunted (HAZ Conclusions: Prevalence of stunting is high among APH worldwide. Substantial sex-based differences in growth evolution during adolescence were observed in this global cohort, which were not explained by differences in age of access to HIV care, degree of immunosuppression or region. Other factors influencing growth differences in APH, such as differences in puberta development, should be better documented, to guide further research and inform interventions to optimize growth and health outcomes among APH. Keywords: HIV; adolescent; growth; stunting; cohort studies; developing countries, 1 | INTRODUCTION Adolescence, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as between 10 and 19 years of age [1], is a critical transition period in life, accompanied by significant [...]

In recent years, nanomotors have been developed and attracted extensive attention in biomedical applications. In this work, a magnetically-guided oxygen-propelled CoPt/gold nanosheet motor (NSM) was prepared and used as an active self-propelled platform that can load, transfer and control the release of drug carrier to cancer cells. As a drug carrier, the microcapsules were constructed by the layer-by-layer (LbL) coating of chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose layers, followed by incorporation of gold and magnetite nanoparticles. Doxorubicin (DOX) as an anti-cancer drug was loaded onto the synthesized microcapsules with a loading efficiency of 77%. The prepared NSMs can deliver the DOX loaded magnetic multilayer microcapsule to the target cancer cell based on the catalytic decomposition of H2O2 solution (1% v/v) via guidance from an external magnetic force. The velocity of NSM was determined to be 25.1 μm s−1 in 1% H2O2. Under near-infrared irradiation, and due to the photothermal effect of the gold nanoparticles, the proposed system was found to rapidly release more drugs compared to that of an internal stimulus diffusion process. Moreover, the investigation of cytotoxicity of NSMs and multilayer microcapsules clearly revealed that they have negligible side effects over all the concentrations tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partnerships between researchers and policymakers can improve uptake and integration of scientific evidence. This article describes the research-policy partnership between the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) (www.iedea.org) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which was established in 2014. IeDEA is an international research consortium, which analyses data on almost 2 million people living with HIV under care in routine settings in 46 countries in Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America, North America and sub-Saharan Africa. Five multiregional analyses were identified to inform the WHO on progress towards the second and third 90s of the 90-90-90 targets in adults and children: (i) trends in CD4 cell counts at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART); (ii) delays from enrolment in HIV care to ART initiation; (iii) the impact of ART guideline changes; (iv) retention in care, mortality and loss to follow-up; and (v) viral suppression within the first 3 years after initiating ART. Results from these analyses were contributed to the 2015 and 2016 WHO global HIV progress reports, will contribute to the 2018 report, and were published in academic journals. The partnership has been mutually beneficial: discussion of WHO policy agendas led to more policy-framed, relevant and timely IeDEA research, and the collaboration provided the WHO with timely access to the latest data from IeDEA, as it was shared prior to peer-review publication.

Introduction: We assessed mortality and losses to follow-up (LTFU) during adolescence in routine care settings in the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) consortium. Methods: Cohorts in the Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Central, and South America, and sub-Saharan Africa (Central, East, Southern, West) contributed data, and included adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) enrolled from January 2003 and aged 10 to 19 years (period of adolescence) while under care up to database closure (June 2016). Follow-up started at age 10 years or the first clinic visit, whichever was later. Entering care at Results: Of the 61,242 ALHIV from 270 clinics in 34 countries included in the analysis, 69% (n = 42,138) entered care Conclusions: Both mortality and LTFU were worse among those entering care at [greater than or equal to]15 years. ALHIV should be evaluated apart from younger children and adults to identify population-specific reasons for death and LTFU. Keywords: adolescents; mortality; lost to follow-up; retention; global; HIV, 1 | INTRODUCTION UNAIDS estimates that there were 1.0 million female and 770,000 male adolescents living with HIV in 2017 (aidsinfo.unaids. org). The adolescent age group (10 to 19 years) [...]