Notes

Mechanised air-flow strategy for lung treatment according to patient-ventilator conversation.
Multi-view cluster analysis, as a popular granular computing method, aims to partition sample subjects into consistent clusters across different views in which the subjects are characterized. Frequently, data entries can be missing from some of the views. The latest multi-view co-clustering methods cannot effectively deal with incomplete data, especially when there are mixed patterns of missing values. We propose an enhanced formulation for a family of multi-view co-clustering methods to cope with the missing data problem by introducing an indicator matrix whose elements indicate which data entries are observed and assessing cluster validity only on observed entries. In comparison with the simple strategy of removing subjects with missing values, our approach can use all available data in cluster analysis. In comparison with common methods that impute missing data in order to use regular multi-view analytics, our approach is less sensitive to imputation uncertainty. In comparison with other state-of-the-art multi-view incomplete clustering methods, our approach is sensible in the cases of missing any value in a view or missing the entire view, the most common scenario in practice. We first validated the proposed strategy in simulations, and then applied it to a treatment study of heroin dependence which would have been impossible with previous methods due to a number of missing-data patterns. Patients in a treatment study were naturally assessed in different feature spaces such as in the pre-, during-and post-treatment time windows. Our algorithm was able to identify subgroups where patients in each group showed similarities in all of the three time windows, thus leading to the recognition of pre-treatment (baseline) features predictive of post-treatment outcomes.This paper assesses the impact of the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown on wholesale prices and quantities traded in agricultural markets. We compare whether these impacts differ across non-perishable (wheat) and perishable commodities (tomato and onion), and the extent to which any adverse impacts are mitigated by the adoption of a greater number of agricultural market reform measures. We use a granular data set comprising daily observations for 3 months from nearly 1000 markets across five states and use a double- and triple- difference estimation strategy. Expectedly, our results differ by type of commodity and period of analysis. While all prices spiked initially in April, they recovered relatively quickly, underscoring the importance of time duration for analysis. Wheat prices were anchored in large part by the minimum support price, while tomato prices were lower in some months. Supply constraints began easing in May with greater market arrivals perhaps reflecting distress sales. Market reform measures did help in insulating farmers from lower prices, but these effects are salient for the perishable goods, and not so much for wheat where the government remained the dominant market player. Taken together, these results point to considerable resilience in agricultural markets in dealing with the COVID-19 shock, buffered by adequate policy support.The use of methotrexate in routine clinical practice is becoming more common among specialties such as rheumatology, dermatology, oncology and obstetrics. General clinicians are increasingly encountering patients on this drug. Though it has a high safety profile, there is a recognised risk of acute toxicity or long-term complications associated with its use, which can be worsened by several factors such as advanced age, moderate to severe renal impairment, low folate level and/or inadequate folate supplementation, hypoalbuminaemia, polypharmacy causing drug-drug interactions and wrongful administration. We present a case of a 45-year old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who presented with acute pancytopaenia and mucositis due to methotrexate toxicity. We highlight its peculiar dosing regimen to minimise prescribing errors.
None.
None.Data abounds on osteoporosis in developed countries unlike developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa. This review was done to confirm the paucity of data the authors suspected and to encourage studies in this field. AJOL (African Journals Online), MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for studies published from January 1980 to August 2018. The eligibility criteria for inclusion were observational studies evaluating osteoporosis prevalence or incidence rates of fragility fractures. Out of 1,170 articles identified, six met the eligibility criteria. Prevalence of osteoporosis ranged from 18.2% to 65.8% across a heterogenous at-risk population. Bone mineral density assessment was limited by the measurement method, with most studies using quantitative ultrasound instead of standard bone densitometry. From the available studies, the prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fracture incidence may not be low in Sub-Saharan Africa; what is, however, evident is the paucity of good quality data from this region. Considering an expected aging population in sub-Saharan Africa, future research should be encouraged and aimed at clarifying the burden of this non-communicable disease. This will guide healthcare policy in this medically underserved part of Africa.
None declared.
None declared.
There are indications that prehypertension precedes hypertension. Like hypertension, it is associated with increased cardiovascular risk.

To determine the prevalence, awareness and correlates of prehypertension and hypertension among adults in Delta State, Nigeria.

This was a cross-sectional study. We recruited adults aged ≥18 years from two communities in Delta State, Nigeria, using the multi-stage sampling technique. The study instrument was a modified WHO-STEPS questionnaire. Prehypertension and hypertension were defined using the JNC-7 criteria. Ethical approval was obtained before the recruitment of participants.

Of the 852 adults studied, the mean (±SD) age was 42.64 (±16.07) years, females (55.9%) and urban dwellers (55.8%). The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension were 42.5% and 29.3%, respectively; both were higher among urban dwellers. selleckchem The peak age-group for prehypertension and hypertension were 25-34 and 35-44 years, respectively. Awareness of hypertension was low; 12.0% (102/852).
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