Characterizing Indicators of Engagement in HIV-Associated Healthcare and Clinical Outcomes among People with HIV and Mpox in Washington, DC: A Nested Case-Control Study of the DC Cohort

The high proportion of people with HIV (PWH) in the 2022-2023 mpox outbreak has raised questions surrounding the association between HIV and mpox. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the association between engagement in HIV-associated healthcare and mpox diagnosis, as well as to characterize cases of mpox among PWH. The DC Cohort is a longitudinal cohort of PWH in Washington, DC. We conducted a 5:1 (controls:cases) nested case-cohort study on male participants, matching age and care site. Cases were participants with an identified mpox diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess the impact of indicators of engagement in HIV-associated healthcare on mpox diagnosis. We identified 70 cases of mpox in DC Cohort participants randomly matched to 323 controls, for a total of 393 participants included in the analysis. Study participants were primarily non-Hispanic Black (72.3%) with a median age of 41 (IQR: 36, 50). There was no association between engagement in care and mpox diagnosis; however, low CD4 was associated with increased odds of mpox diagnosis (aOR: 4.60 (95% CI: 1.23, 17.11)). Among a cohort of PWH, engagement in care was not associated with mpox diagnosis, suggesting that the overrepresentation of PWH among mpox cases is not due to surveillance bias.

Second law assessment of di methyl ether and its mixtures in domestic refrigeration system

Dimethyl ether (DME) and its blend of refrigerants (R429A, R435A, and R510A) are considered in this study's second law analysis as potential replacements for R134a. The performance of various refrigerants in a vapour compression refrigeration system is examined using the Design package CYCLE D. The software REFPROP 9.0 is used to extract all of the thermal and physical parameters of DME and its blend of refrigerants. The Second law performance parameters such as Efficiency Defects, Entropy generation and ExergyEfficiency are discussed. The refrigerants R429A and R510A are more energy efficient than R134a across a condensing temperature range of 30 to 55 °C at - 10 °C evaporation temperature. R134a was exceeded by R429A and R510A in terms of exergetic efficiency by 2.08 and 0.43%, respectively. In comparison to other losses in different components, the compressor's exergy loss is larger at 37-40% of the total exergy loss. By employing RE170 and its blends, the Vapour Compression Refrigeration System often performs better under the second law than R134a.The result shows that the efficiency defects in the compressor are the largest, followed by the condenser and evaporator. Thus, the design improvement of a compressor is of at most importance to improve the system performance by lowering the overall irreversibility.

Influence of capillary tube length on the performance of domestic refrigerator with eco-friendly refrigerant R152a

The household heating and cooling system often use the capillary device. The use of the helical capillary eliminates the need for lightweight refrigeration devices in the system. Capillary pressure is noticeably affected by the capillary geometric parameters, such as length, mean diameter, and pitch. This paper is concerned with the effects of the capillary length on the performance of the system. Three separate length capillary tubes were used in the experiment. The data on R152a were studied under various conditions to assess the impact of varying the length. Maximum COP is obtained at an evaporator temperature of − 12 °C and capillary length of 3.65 m. The result is drawn that the system performance enhances when the capillary length is improved to 3.65 m when compared to 3.35 m and 3.96 m. As a result, as the capillary length increases up to a specific amount, the system's performance improves. The findings from the experiment were compared with those from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis.

Crystal structure of bis(thiocyanato-κS)bis(thiourea-κS)mercury(II)

In the title complex, [Hg(NCS)₂(CH₄N₂S)₂], the Hg^II atom is four-coordinated having an irregular four-coordinate geometry composed of four thione S atoms of two thio­cyanate groups and two thio­urea groups. The S—Hg—S angles are 172.02 (9)° for the trans-thio­cyanate S atoms and 90.14 (5)° for the cis-thio­urea S atoms. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by an intra­molecular N—H⋯S hydrogen bond, which forms an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by a number of N—H⋯N and N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional framework. The first report of the crystal structure of this compound appeared in 1966 [Korczynski (1966 ▸). Rocz. Chem.40, 547–569] with an extremely high R factor of 17.2%, and no mention of how the data were collected.

Self-regulation in self-propelled nematic fluids

We consider the hydrodynamic theory of an active fluid of self-propelled particles with nematic aligning interactions. This class of materials has polar symmetry at the microscopic level, but forms macrostates of nematic symmetry. We highlight three key features of the dynamics. First, as in polar active fluids, the control parameter for the order-disorder transition, namely the density, is dynamically convected by the order parameter via active currents. The resulting dynamical self-regulation of the order parameter is a generic property of active fluids and destabilizes the uniform nematic state near the mean-field transition. Secondly, curvature-driven currents render the system unstable deep in the nematic state, as found previously. Finally, and unique to self-propelled nematics, nematic order induces local polar order that in turn leads to the growth of density fluctuations. We propose this as a possible mechanism for the smectic order of polar clusters seen in numerical simulations.

Conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy

Conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy is an extremely rare occurrence. We present here, a 27-year-old multigravida with gestational diabetes and a conjoined twins in a triplet pregnancy.

Fetal heart sound analysis: a preliminary evaluation

The aim of this study, is to determine whether the fine characteristics of the fetal heart sounds could be used to identify intrauterine growth retarded fetuses. A preliminary evaluation, was conducted to compare these characteristics between intrauterine growth retarded fetuses and normal fetuses in the antenatal period after 36 weeks of gestation. Altogether, 7 IUGR fetuses were compared with 12 normal fetuses. An instrument named the Fetal Frequency Phonocardiogram was designed for this purpose. When connected to a personal computer and with a software programme specially written, the fetal heart sound characteristics were analysed. After detailed analysis, there were 3 significant differences between IUGR and normal fetuses, all of which gave a p-value of < 0.01. The frequency of the first heart sound was significantly higher in the IUGR fetuses compared to normal fetuses. The ratio of the amplitude of the first heart sound over the second heart sound was higher in the IUGR group. Finally, the ratio of the time between the first and second heart sound over the cardiac cycle was shorter in the IUGR fetuses. Fetal heart sound analysis, may provide a simple non-invasive method of detecting and monitoring fetuses at risk in the antenatal period.