A Highly Compact Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Array for 5G Millimeter Wave Applications.

This paper presents a compact 1 × 4 antipodal Vivaldi antenna (AVA) array for 5G millimeter-wave applications. The designed antenna operates over 24.19 GHz-29.15 GHz and 30.28 GHz-40.47 GHz frequency ranges. The proposed antenna provides a high gain of 8 dBi to 13.2 dBi and the highest gain is obtained at 40.3 GHz. The proposed antenna operates on frequency range-2 (FR2) and covers n257, n258, n260, and n261 frequency bands of 5G communication. The corrugations and RT/Duroid 5880 substrate are used to reduce the antenna size to 24 mm × 28.8 mm × 0.254 mm, which makes the antenna highly compact. Furthermore, the corrugations play an important role in the front-to-back ratio improvement, which further enhances the gain of the antenna. The corporate feeding is optimized meticulously to obtain an enhanced bandwidth and narrow beamwidth. The radiation pattern does not vary over the desired operating frequency range. In addition, the experimental results of the fabricated antenna coincide with the simulated results. The presented antenna design shows a substantial improvement in size, gain, and bandwidth when compared to what has been reported for an AVA with nearly the same size, which makes the proposed antenna one of the best candidates for application in devices that operate in the millimeter frequency range.

COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Persons - 23 States, January 31-July 3, 2020.

Although non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons account for 0.7% of the U.S. population,* a recent analysis reported that 1.3% of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases reported to CDC with known race and ethnicity were among AI/AN persons (1). To assess the impact of COVID-19 among the AI/AN population, reports of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases during January 22†-July 3, 2020 were analyzed. The analysis was limited to 23 states§ with >70% complete race/ethnicity information and five or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among both AI/AN persons (alone or in combination with other races and ethnicities) and non-Hispanic white (white) persons. Among 424,899 COVID-19 cases reported by these states, 340,059 (80%) had complete race/ethnicity information; among these 340,059 cases, 9,072 (2.7%) occurred among AI/AN persons, and 138,960 (40.9%) among white persons. Among 340,059 cases with complete patient race/ethnicity data, the cumulative incidence among AI/AN persons in these 23 states was 594 per 100,000 AI/AN population (95% confidence interval [CI] = 203-1,740), compared with 169 per 100,000 white population (95% CI = 137-209) (rate ratio [RR] = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.2-10.1). AI/AN persons with COVID-19 were younger (median age = 40 years; interquartile range [IQR] = 26-56 years) than were white persons (median age = 51 years; IQR = 32-67 years). More complete case report data and timely, culturally responsive, and evidence-based public health efforts that leverage the strengths of AI/AN communities are needed to decrease COVID-19 transmission and improve patient outcomes.

Discovering the cost of care: consumer, provider, and retailer surveys shed light on the determinants of malaria health-seeking behaviours.

BACKGROUND: The growing threat of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and drug resistance in the Plasmodium parasites increases the importance of ensuring appropriate malaria case management and enabling positive health-seeking behaviour. Treatment-seeking behaviours are poorly characterized in malaria-endemic regions that have been the focus of intensive control and elimination campaigns. This study uses a comprehensive approach to shed light on the determinants of malaria treatment-seeking behaviours from different perspectives. METHODS: The authors conducted cross-sectional surveys from 832 households, fifteen health centers, and 135 retailers across three sites in the Emuhaya and Kakamega districts of the western Kenyan highlands. Participants were recruited via random sampling and data were collected with the use of a structured questionnaire about malaria treatment-seeking behaviour. All households, healthcare facilities, and retailers were mapped using a handheld GPS and a GIS algorithm was used to calculate "walk distance" based on the Tobler rule; an estimate of this distance was used to calculate the travel time used in the analyses. RESULTS: Across the three sites, 47.5-78.9% of the residents sought diagnosis and treatment at hospitals, clinics, or dispensaries; 6.3-26.1% of the residents sought malaria care only at pharmaceutical retailers. Overall, 40.3-59.4% of residents reported delaying seeking care for more than 24 h after fever onset. After adjustment, residents who chose to visit a pharmaceutical retail facility rather than a hospital were 121 and 307% more likely to delay seeking medical care after fever onset than those who reported choosing a healthcare facility for treatment. No significant association was found between travel time and delay in seeking care. The surveys of the healthcare facilities indicated an average total cost per patient per visit was 112 KES ($1.40 US) for public facilities and 165 KES ($2.06 US) for private facilities. CONCLUSION: Understanding the local health behaviours that perpetuate transmission of malaria will help develop targeted preventive measures and educational interventions that can empower the residents with the knowledge needed to combat malaria in a safe and effective manner. Ensuring patient access to health care facilities in countries with high disease burdens has broader implications on measures of equity and on public health prevention methodologies.

Opa1-mediated cristae opening is Bax/Bak and BH3 dependent, required for apoptosis, and independent of Bak oligomerization.

Controversy surrounds the role and mechanism of mitochondrial cristae remodeling in apoptosis. Here we show that the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins Bid and Bim induced full cytochrome c release but only a subtle alteration of crista junctions, which involved the disassembly of Opa1 complexes. Both mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) and crista junction opening (CJO) were caspase independent and required a functional BH3 domain and Bax/Bak. However, MOMP and CJO were experimentally separable. Pharmacological blockade of MOMP did not prevent Opa1 disassembly and CJO; moreover, expression of a disassembly-resistant mutant Opa1 (Q297V) blocked cytochrome c release and apoptosis but not Bax activation. Thus, apoptosis requires a subtle form of Opa1-dependent crista remodeling that is induced by BH3-only proteins and Bax/Bak but independent of MOMP.

Design of antipodal vivaldi antenna with patch and corrugations for 5G applications.

A compact 1 × 4 antipodal Vivaldi antenna (AVA) array designed for 5 G applications is introduced in this study. An elliptical-shaped parasitic patch and corrugation are strategically employed to enhance gain and bandwidth, making it well-suited for 5 G applications. The resulting AVA array with corrugation and parasitic patch (AVA-PC) is designed and simulated on ANSYS HFSS, demonstrating a stable gain ranging from 10 dBi to 11.7 dBi over the frequency range of 23.45 GHz to 28.74 GHz. The antenna, with 25.8 mm x 22.4 mm x 0.5 mm dimensions, is implemented on Roger's RT/Duroid substrate 5880. •Design uses an antipodal Vivaldi antenna to build a 1 × 4 AVA.•The array employs corrugations and an elliptical patch as a performance enhancement technique.•Simulated results confirm the designed antenna's practical utility for 5 G applications in a band of 23.45 GHz to 28.74 GHz.

Modest additive effects of integrated vector control measures on malaria prevalence and transmission in western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: The effect of integrating vector larval intervention on malaria transmission is unknown when insecticide-treated bed-net (ITN) coverage is very high, and the optimal indicator for intervention evaluation needs to be determined when transmission is low. METHODS: A post hoc assignment of intervention-control cluster design was used to assess the added effect of both indoor residual spraying (IRS) and Bacillus-based larvicides (Bti) in addition to ITN in the western Kenyan highlands in 2010 and 2011. Cross-sectional, mass parasite screenings, adult vector populations, and cohort of active case surveillance (ACS) were conducted before and after the intervention in three study sites with two- to three-paired intervention-control clusters at each site each year. The effect of larviciding, IRS, ITNs and other determinants of malaria risk was assessed by means of mixed estimating methods. RESULTS: Average ITN coverage increased from 41% in 2010 to 92% in 2011 in the study sites. IRS intervention had significant added impact on reducing vector density in 2010 but the impact was modest in 2011. The effect of IRS on reducing parasite prevalence was significant in 2011 but was seasonal specific in 2010. ITN was significantly associated with parasite densities in 2010 but IRS application was significantly correlated with reduced gametocyte density in 2011. IRS application reduced about half of the clinical malaria cases in 2010 and about one-third in 2011 compare to non-intervention areas. CONCLUSION: Compared with a similar study conducted in 2005, the efficacy of the current integrated vector control with ITN, IRS, and Bti reduced three- to five-fold despite high ITN coverage, reflecting a modest added impact on malaria transmission. Additional strategies need to be developed to further reduce malaria transmission.

BUB1 mediation of caspase-independent mitotic death determines cell fate.

The spindle checkpoint that monitors kinetochore-microtubule attachment has been implicated in tumorigenesis; however, the relation between the spindle checkpoint and cell death remains obscure. In BUB1-deficient (but not MAD2-deficient) cells, conditions that activate the spindle checkpoint (i.e., cold shock or treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG) induced DNA fragmentation during early mitosis. This mitotic cell death was independent of caspase activation; therefore, we named it caspase-independent mitotic death (CIMD). CIMD depends on p73, a homologue of p53, but not on p53. CIMD also depends on apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G, which are effectors of caspase-independent cell death. Treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG induced CIMD in cell lines derived from colon tumors with chromosome instability, but not in cells from colon tumors with microsatellite instability. This result was due to low BUB1 expression in the former cell lines. When BUB1 is completely depleted, aneuploidy rather than CIMD occurs. These results suggest that cells prone to substantial chromosome missegregation might be eliminated via CIMD.

Epidemiological trends in opioid-only and opioid/polysubstance-related death rates among American Indian/Alaska Native populations from 1999 to 2019: a retrospective longitudinal ecological study.

OBJECTIVES: The rate of drug overdose deaths in the USA has more than tripled since the turn of the century, and rates are disproportionately high among the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) population. Little is known about the overall historical trends in AI/AN opioid-only and opioid/polysubstance-related mortality. This study will address this gap. DESIGN: This is a retrospective longitudinal ecological study. SETTING: US death records from 1999 to 2019 using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research. PARTICIPANTS: US non-Hispanic AI/AN people age 12 years and older. MEASURES: The primary outcomes, identified via the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes, included overdose deaths due to (1) opioids only, opioids in combination with any other substance, all-opioid related overdoses; (2) combinations of opioids and alcohol, opioids and methamphetamine, opioids and cocaine, opioids and benzodiazepines; and (3) specific types of opioids. RESULTS: From 1999 to 2019, opioid-only mortality rates increased from 2.8 to 15.8 per 100 000 (p<0.001) for AI/AN women and 4.6 to 25.6 per 100 000 (p<0.001) for AI/AN men. All opioid-related mortality rates increased significantly (p<0.001) from 5.2 to 33.9 per 100 000 AI/AN persons, 3.9 to 26.1 for women and 6.5 to 42.1 for men. AI/AN also exhibited significant increases in mortality rates due to opioids and alcohol, opioids and benzodiazepines, opioids and methamphetamine, and AI/AN men experienced substantial increases in mortality due to opioids and cocaine. Mortality rates by individual opioid types increased significantly over time for heroin, natural and semi-synthetic (prescription), and synthetic opioids (fentanyl/fentanyl analogues) other than methadone. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight magnification over time in opioid-related deaths and may point to broader systemic factors that may disproportionately affect members of AI/AN communities and drive inequities.

Impacts of Antimalarial Drugs on Plasmodium falciparum Drug Resistance Markers, Western Kenya, 2003-2015.

Antimalarial drug resistance has threatened global malaria control since chloroquine (CQ)-resistant Plasmodium falciparum emerged in Asia in the 1950s. Understanding the impacts of changing antimalarial drug policy on resistance is critical for resistance management. Plasmodium falciparum isolates were collected from 2003 to 2015 in western Kenya and analyzed for genetic markers associated with resistance to CQ (Pfcrt), sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) (Pfdhfr/Pfdhps), and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) (PfKelch13/Pfmdr1) antimalarials. In addition, household antimalarial drug use surveys were administered. Pfcrt 76T prevalence decreased from 76% to 6% from 2003 to 2015. Pfdhfr/Pfdhps quintuple mutants decreased from 70% in 2003 to 14% in 2008, but increased to near fixation by 2015. SP "super resistant" alleles Pfdhps 581G and 613S/T were not detected in the 2015 samples that were assessed. The Pfmdr1 N86-184F-D1246 haplotype associated with decreased lumefantrine susceptibility increased significantly from 4% in 2005 to 51% in 2015. No PfKelch13 mutations that have been previously associated with artemisinin resistance were detected in the study populations. The increase in Pfdhfr/Pfdhps quintuple mutants that associates with SP resistance may have resulted from the increased usage of SP for intermittent preventative therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) and for malaria treatment in the community. Prevalent Pfdhfr/Pfdhps mutations call for careful monitoring of SP resistance and effectiveness of the current IPTp program in Kenya. In addition, the commonly occurring Pfmdr1 N86-184F-D1246 haplotype associated with increased lumefantrine tolerance calls for surveillance of AL efficacy in Kenya, as well as consideration for a rotating artemisinin-combination therapy regimen.

Effects of co-habitation between Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Culex quinquefasciatus aquatic stages on life history traits.

BACKGROUND: The effective measures for the control of malaria and filariasis vectors can be achieved by targeting immature stages of anopheline and culicine mosquitoes in productive habitat. To design this strategy, the mechanisms (like biotic interactions with conspecifc and heterospecific larvae) regulating mosquito aquatic stages survivorship, development time and the size of emerging adults should be understood. This study explored the effect of co-habitation between An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus on different life history traits of both species under different densities and constant food supply in the habitats of the same size under semi-natural conditions. METHODS: Experiments were set up with three combinations; Cx. quinquefasciatus alone (single species treatment), An. gambiae s.s. alone (single species treatment); and An. gambiae s.s. with Cx. quiquefasciatus (co-habitation treatment) in different densities in semi field situation. RESULTS: The effect of co-habitation of An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus was found to principally affect three parameters. The wing-lengths (a proxy measure of body size) of An. gambiae s.s. in co-habitation treatments were significantly shorter in both females and males than in An. gambiae s.s single species treatments. In Cx. quinquefasciatus, no significant differences in wing-length were observed between the single species and co-habitation treatments. Daily survival rates were not significantly different between co-habitation and single species treatments for both An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Developmental time was found to be significantly different with single species treatments developing better than co-habitation treatments. Sex ratio was found to be significantly different from the proportion of 0.5 among single and co-habitation treatments species at different densities. Single species treatments had more males than females emerging while in co-habitation treatments more females emerged than males. In this study, there was no significant competitive survival advantage in co-habitation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that co-habitation of An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus in semi-natural conditions affect mostly An. gambiae s.s. body size. Hence, more has to be understood on the effects of co-habitation of An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus in a natural ecology and its possible consequences in malaria and filariasis epidemiology.