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The limit of detection of this ICT for T. marneffei antigen spiked in normal urine was approximately 0.6 μg/ml. The diagnostic performance of the ICT was validated using 341 urine samples from patents with culture- confirmed T. marneffei infection and from a control group of healthy individuals and patients with other infections in an endemic area. The ICT exhibited 89.47% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 97.65% accuracy. Our results demonstrate that the urine-based GNA-MAb4D1 based ICT produces a visual result within 30 minutes and that the test is highly specific for the diagnosis of T. marneffei infection. The findings validate the deployment of the ICT for clinical use.Phosphorylation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can produce changes in structural and dynamical properties and thereby mediate critical biological functions. How phosphorylation effects intrinsically disordered proteins has been studied for an increasing number of IDPs, but a systematic understanding is still lacking. Here, we compare the collapse propensity of four disordered proteins, Ash1, the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase (CTD2′), the cytosolic domain of E-Cadherin, and a fragment of the p130Cas, in unphosphorylated and phosphorylated forms using extensive all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We find all proteins to show V-shape changes in their collapse propensity upon multi-site phosphorylation according to their initial net charge phosphorylation expands neutral or overall negatively charged IDPs and shrinks positively charged IDPs. However, force fields including those tailored towards and commonly used for IDPs overestimate these changes. We find quantitative agreement of MD results with SAXS and NMR data for Ash1 and CTD2′ only when attenuating protein electrostatic interactions by using a higher salt concentration (e.g. 350 mM), highlighting the overstabilization of salt bridges in current force fields. We show that phosphorylation of IDPs also has a strong impact on the solvation of the protein, a factor that in addition to the actual collapse or expansion of the IDP should be considered when analyzing SAXS data. Compared to the overall mild change in global IDP dimension, the exposure of active sites can change significantly upon phosphorylation, underlining the large susceptibility of IDP ensembles to regulation through post-translational modifications.The system efficiency of pumping units in the middle and late stages of oil recovery is characterized by several factors, complex data and poor regulation. Further, the main control factors that affect system efficiency in different blocks vary greatly; therefore, it is necessary to obtain the block characteristics to effectively improve system efficiency. The k-means algorithm is simple and efficient, but it assumes that all factors have the same amount of influence on the output value. AG-1478 mouse This cannot reflect the obvious difference in the influence of several factors in the block on the efficiency. Moreover, the algorithm is sensitive to the selection of the initial cluster centre point, so each calculation result that reflects the efficiency characteristics of the block system cannot be unified. To solve the aforementioned problems affecting the k-means algorithm, the correlation coefficient of all the factors was first calculated, followed by extracting the system efficiency of the positive and negative indicge; high-efficiency wells are characterized by pump depths lower than the block average. For this block, it is possible to reduce the depth of the lower pump and increase the water-injection effect to increase the output under conditions of meeting the submergence degree, which can effectively improve the system efficiency.Does rhythmic neural activity merely echo the rhythmic features of the environment, or does it reflect a fundamental computational mechanism of the brain? This debate has generated a series of clever experimental studies attempting to find an answer. Here, we argue that the field has been obstructed by predictions of oscillators that are based more on intuition rather than biophysical models compatible with the observed phenomena. What follows is a series of cautionary examples that serve as reminders to ground our hypotheses in well-developed theories of oscillatory behavior put forth by theoretical study of dynamical systems. Ultimately, our hope is that this exercise will push the field to concern itself less with the vague question of “oscillation or not” and more with specific biophysical models that can be readily tested.

Adolescents face socio-structural, personal and programmatic barriers to HIV prevention services, highlighting the importance of understanding knowledge and acceptability as essential aspects to promote their broader access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We analyzed the acceptability of PrEP among adolescent men who have sex with men (MSM), travestis and transgender women (TGW).

A qualitative investigation was conducted as part of the formative research of the PrEP15-19 study, an ongoing demonstration study that analyzes the effectiveness of daily PrEP among adolescent MSM, travestis and TGW aged 15-19 in three Brazilian cities. A total of 37 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus groups were conducted. Building from thematic analysis focusing on participants’ sexual encounters, perceptions about PrEP efficacy, and vulnerability contexts, we analyzed prospective acceptability of PrEP.

Knowledge about PrEP was incipient and characterized by adolescents’ frequent doubts about its prescription and eff as part of care.

Participants’ low knowledge and acceptability of PrEP are circumscribed by a rigid perception of condom as the ideal prevention method and the context of their sexual relations. Prospective acceptability highlights that the successful uptake of PrEP depends on overcoming barriers of access to health services and confronting transphobia and homophobia as part of care.

Frequent retesting for HIV among persons at increased risk of HIV infection is critical to early HIV diagnosis of persons and delivery of combination HIV prevention services. There are few evidence-based interventions for promoting frequent retesting for HIV. We sought to determine the effectiveness of financial incentives and deposit contracts in promoting quarterly HIV retesting among adults at increased risk of HIV.

In peri-urban Ugandan communities from October to December 2018, we randomized HIV-negative adults with self-reported risk to 1 of 3 strategies to promote HIV retesting (1) no incentive; (2) cash incentives (US$7) for retesting at 3 and 6 months (total US$14); or (3) deposit contracts participants could voluntarily deposit US$6 at baseline and at 3 months that would be returned with interest (total US$7) upon retesting at 3 and 6 months (total US$14) or lost if participants failed to retest. The primary outcome was retesting for HIV at both 3 and 6 months. Of 1,482 persons screened for study eligibility following community-based recruitment, 524 participants were randomized to either no incentive (N = 180), incentives (N = 172), or deposit contracts (N = 172) median age was 25 years (IQR 22 to 30), 44% were women, and median weekly income was US$13.