Perspectives of people living with HIV and health workers about a point-of-care adherence assay: a qualitative study on acceptability.

Current antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence monitoring is premised on patients' self-reported adherence behaviour (prone to recall error) and verified by blood viral load measurement (which can delay results). A newly developed Urine Tenofovir Rapid Assay (UTRA) assesses tenofovir in urine at point-of-care and is a novel tool to test and immediately respond to adherence levels of people living with HIV (PLHIV). We explored PLHIV and health workers' initial perceptions about integrating the UTRA into routine medical care for adherence support. We conducted a series of once-off in-depth qualitative interviews with PLHIV (n = 25) and health workers (n = 5) at a primary care health facility in Cape Town, South Africa. Data analysis involved descriptive summaries of key emergent themes with illustrative case examples. We applied a deductive, outcomes-driven analytic approach to the summaries using the Implementation Outcomes Framework proffered by Proctor et al. (2011). The three relevant concepts from this framework that guided our evaluation were: acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility. We found positive perceptions about the UTRA from many PLHIV and health worker participants. Many PLHIV reported that the immediate results offered by the UTRA could enable them to have constructive discussions with health workers on how to resolve adherence challenges in real-time. Few PLHIV reported concerns that drinking alcohol could affect their UTRA results. Many health workers reported that the UTRA could help them identify patients at risk of treatment failure and immediately intervene through counselling, though some relayed that they would support the UTRA's implementation if more staff members could be added in their busy facility. Overall, these findings show that the UTRA was widely perceived to be acceptable and actionable by many PLHIV and health workers in the study.

Updating analysis of key performance indicators of 4G LTE network with the prediction of missing values of critical network parameters based on experimental data from a dense urban environment.

In practice, field measurements often show missing data due to several dynamic factors. However, the complete data about a given environment is key to characterizing the radio features of the terrain for a high quality of service. In order to address this problem, field data were collected from a dense urban environment, and the missing parameters were predicted using the Piecewise Cubic Hermite Interpolating Polynomial (PCHIP) algorithm. The field measurement was taken around Victoria Island and Ikoyi in Lagos, Nigeria. The test equipment comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem equipped with a 2×2 MIMO antenna, employing 64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). The Modem was installed on a personal computer and assembled inside a test vehicle driven at a near-constant speed of 30 km/h to minimize possible Doppler effects. Specifically, the test equipment records 67 LTE parameters at 1 s intervals, including the time and coordinates of the mobile station. Thirty-two parameters were logged at 42,498 instances corresponding to 11 h, 48 min and 18 s of data logging on the mobile terminal. Sixteen important 4G LTE parameters were extracted and analyzed. The statistical errors were calculated when the missing values were exempted from the analyses and when the missing values were incorporated using the PCHIP algorithm. In particular, this update paper estimated the missing values of critical network parameters using the PCHIP algorithm, which was not covered in the original article. Also, the error statistics between the data (histograms) and the corresponding probability density function curves for the measured data with missing values and the data filled with the missing values using the PCHIP algorithm are derived. Additionally, the accuracy of the PCHIP algorithm was analysed using standard statistical error analysis. More network parameters have been tested in the update article than in the original article, presenting only basic statistics and fewer network parameters. Overall, results indicate that only the parameters which measure the throughput values follow the half-normal distribution while others follow the normal distribution.

An ultrasonographic analysis of the activation patterns of abdominal muscles in children with spastic type cerebral palsy and in typically developing individuals: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal muscles have stiffer appearance in individuals with spastic type cerebral palsy (STCP) than in their typically developing (TD) peers. This apparent stiffness has been implicated in pelvic instability, mal-rotation, poor gait and locomotion. This study was aimed at investigating whether abdominal muscles activation patterns from rest to activity differ in the two groups. METHOD: From ultrasound images, abdominal muscles thickness during the resting and active stages was measured in 63 STCP and 82 TD children. The thickness at each stage and the change in thickness from rest to activity were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Rectus abdominis (RA) muscle was the thickest muscle at rest as well as in active stage in both groups. At rest, all muscles were significantly thicker in the STCP children (p <  0.001). From rest to active stages muscle thickness significantly increased (p <  0.001) in the TD group and significantly decreased (p <  0.001) in the STCP children, except for RA, which became thicker during activity in both groups. In active stages, no significant differences in the thickness in the four abdominal muscles were found between the STCP and the TD children. CONCLUSION: Apart from the RA muscle, the activation pattern of abdominal muscles in individuals with STCP differs from that of TD individuals. Further studies required for understanding the activation patterns of abdominal muscles prior to any physical fitness programmes aimed at improving the quality of life in individuals with STCP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: HREC REF: 490/2011. Human Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. November 17, 2011.

Preparation of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes and determination of encapsulation efficiency / 中草药

Objective To develop a method to determine the encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes. Methods In this paper, the thin-film rehydration method was used to prepare doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes. Liposomes and free drugs were separated by dialysis, gel microcolumn centrifugation, and ultra-high speed centrifugation. The content of free drugs and drugs in liposomes was determined by HPLC, and the entrapment efficiency of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes was calculated. Results The optimal formulation of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes was DPPC-DSPE-PEG2000-TAIII-DOX with a molar ratio of 5:1:1:1. The liposomes prepared using thin-film rehydration method had a well-defined spherical shape with a size of (55.4 ± 0.40) nm, a PDI of (0.20 ± 0.02), and a weakly negative zeta potential of (-17.4 ± 0.6) mV. The excipients in the liposomal formulation can be well separated from doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII in the selected chromatographic conditions. The calibrated linear curve of doxorubicin hydrochloride was within 24.9-498.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 9) and that of timosaponin AIII was within 50.55-1 011.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 6). Free doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII were well separated from liposome by gel microcolumn centrifugation, and the encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII was (85.12 ± 1.27)% and (76.51 ± 0.46)% respectively. Conclusion The thin-film dispersion- method can be used for the preparation of doxorubicin hydrochloride and timosaponin AIII co-loaded liposomes. The method of gel microcolumn centrifugation is accurate, reproducible, simple, and suitable for determination of the encapsulation efficiency of co-loaded liposomes.