Towards building a trustworthy pipeline integrating Neuroscience Gateway and Open Science Chain

When the scientific dataset evolves or is reused in workflows creating derived datasets, the integrity of the dataset with its metadata information, including provenance, needs to be securely preserved while providing assurances that they are not accidentally or maliciously altered during the process. Providing a secure method to efficiently share and verify the data as well as metadata is essential for the reuse of the scientific data. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Open Science Chain (OSC) utilizes consortium blockchain to provide a cyberinfrastructure solution to maintain integrity of the provenance metadata for published datasets and provides a way to perform independent verification of the dataset while promoting reuse and reproducibility. The NSF- and National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Neuroscience Gateway (NSG) provides a freely available web portal that allows neuroscience researchers to execute computational data analysis pipeline on high performance computing resources. Combined, the OSC and NSG platforms form an efficient, integrated framework to automatically and securely preserve and verify the integrity of the artifacts used in research workflows while using the NSG platform. This paper presents the results of the first study that integrates OSC-NSG frameworks to track the provenance of neurophysiological signal data analysis to study brain network dynamics using the Neuro-Integrative Connectivity tool, which is deployed in the NSG platform. Database URL: https://www.opensciencechain.org.

The impact of signposting and group support pathways on a community-based physical activity intervention grounded in motivational interviewing

BACKGROUND

Brief advice is recommended to increase physical activity (PA) within primary care. This study assessed change in PA levels and mental well-being after a motivational interviewing (MI) community-based PA intervention and the impact of signposting (SP) and social action (SA) (i.e. weekly group support) pathways.

METHODS

Participants (n = 2084) took part in a community-based, primary care PA programme using MI techniques. Self-reported PA and mental well-being data were collected at baseline (following an initial 30-min MI appointment), 12 weeks, 6 months and 12 months. Participants were assigned based upon the surgery they attended to the SP or SA pathway. Multilevel models derived point estimates and 95% confidence intervals for outcomes at each time point and change scores.

RESULTS

Participants increased PA and mental well-being at each follow-up time point through both participant pathways and with little difference between pathways. Retention was similar between pathways at 12 weeks, but the SP pathway retained more participants at 6 and 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Both pathways produced similar improvements in PA and mental well-being; however, the addition of a control would have provided further insight as to the effectiveness. Due to lower resources yet similar effects, the SP pathway could be incorporated to support PA in primary care settings.

The impact of signposting and group support pathways on a community-based physical activity intervention grounded in motivational interviewing

BACKGROUND

Brief advice is recommended to increase physical activity (PA) within primary care. This study assessed change in PA levels and mental well-being after a motivational interviewing (MI) community-based PA intervention and the impact of signposting (SP) and social action (SA) (i.e. weekly group support) pathways.

METHODS

Participants (n = 2084) took part in a community-based, primary care PA programme using MI techniques. Self-reported PA and mental well-being data were collected at baseline (following an initial 30-min MI appointment), 12 weeks, 6 months and 12 months. Participants were assigned based upon the surgery they attended to the SP or SA pathway. Multilevel models derived point estimates and 95% confidence intervals for outcomes at each time point and change scores.

RESULTS

Participants increased PA and mental well-being at each follow-up time point through both participant pathways and with little difference between pathways. Retention was similar between pathways at 12 weeks, but the SP pathway retained more participants at 6 and 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Both pathways produced similar improvements in PA and mental well-being; however, the addition of a control would have provided further insight as to the effectiveness. Due to lower resources yet similar effects, the SP pathway could be incorporated to support PA in primary care settings.

Outliers and Rogue Doctors: Manufacturing "Anxiety" Around Older Mothers in India

In this article I focus on media narratives on older women bearing and birthing infants through the intervention of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in rural north India. I suggest that their portrayal as "outliers" within popular media narratives is gendered, and connected in particular to: the fear of older women past their reproductive prime becoming pregnant and birthing children through ART; the figure of the "rogue doctor," or the emergence of counter narratives around ART and its practitioners; and, the effort to quell anxieties around ART use amongst older women through the use of legitimating tropes such as conjugality.

Conceptualizing aged reproduction: genetic connectedness, son preference and assisted reproduction in North India

In this paper, I explore the narratives on the administration of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments amongst ageing men and women who are past their 'reproductive prime'. I use the phrase 'past their reproductive prime' with caution as ART has the capability to resurrect the desire, quest and conception of children amongst these ageing women and men. In rural agrarian Haryana in North India, ART panders to, and provides, potent narratives for perpetuation of the patrilineage for genetic continuity through the male line. The administration of ART treatments to this particular demographic is undertaken through the 'operation' of two particular forms of discourse: the desire for genetic perpetuity, and the pursuit of sons. In this enterprise, the aged pregnant body becomes an important trope of resurrecting childless marriages, evidenced by the secrecy surrounding the use of donated sperm, and the open rejection of adoption. Through an exploration of conceptualizations of pregnancy, age and legislation in India, I present the argument that ART supports the pursuit of genetic connectedness by resurrecting the social importance of genetic connectedness through sons and the pregnant wife. In this paper, I purposely engage with elements of the study of kinship and family in South Asia to undertake an analysis of how ART is used as part of a larger social narrative around conception and pregnancy amongst older married couples.

Infertility as inevitable: chronic lifestyles, temporal inevitability and the making of abnormal bodies in India

In seeking to explore the meaning of chronic and chronicity, the association with infertility is neither immediate nor evident. However, this paper explores this relationship by analyzing the idea of infertility in relation to chronicity. In the linkages that come forth the idea of chronic lifestyle emerging from certain ways of being and living, as well the imaginings associated with the chronic body become important nodes of exploring the relationship between infertility and chronicity. Most importantly, the role that time plays in marking the chronic state is seen to be especially potent in the practice of infertility treatment, and the narratives that emerge around its temporal inevitability. The rhetoric that marks the diagnosis and prescription of treatment is often based on the identification of the body as susceptible to reproductive decline and failure, due to the contingencies of modern living. This often translates into a more sustained involvement with ARTs, which may or may not fulfil the required desire for a child. In this paper I seek to analyse the ways in which practitioners of infertility medicine create an image of an affliction that borders on chronicity. In the process, I question the idea of both chronic diseases and chronicity by looking at how illness is imagined in narratives that IVF specialists create in public, and through the idea of a cure for infertility. By analysing data collected through ethnographic fieldwork, this paper aims to build on the idea of the chronic as inevitable within clinical discourse and practice.

Introduction. Contending with the Hourglass: Time, Reproduction, and the Problematization of Ageing

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Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Conceptualization of Ageing in India

Through a mapping of field data collected from two parts of India: Hisar in North India and Hyderabad in South India, this paper looks at the ways in which reproductive decline and ageing have become part of the discourse on assisted reproduction in India. The importance of mapping reproductive decline in different clinics and regional spaces highlights certain shared and distinct conflicts. The thematic discussions of the research findings place the privileging of temporalities in an ambivalent relationship with chronological ageing and reproductive decline. The linkages between ageing and infertility/fertility are more marked in the infertility clinic wherein the diagnostic protocols and treatment towards achieving parenthood are evaluated through the prism of social and moral judgements. Rural-urban differences, gendered expectations of familial roles and rules, and lived environments and lifestyles have a huge impact on the use and dissemination of assisted reproductive technologies in India. In this paper, social expectations surrounding fertility, children, and the family become part of the clinical discourse in the administration of assisted reproductive technologies; and carry important implications for ageing and age-related markers of status and role. 

Ageing and Reproductive Decline in Assisted Reproductive Technologies in India: Mapping the 'Management' of Eggs and Wombs

In this paper, I discuss the ethical underpinnings to the anthropological analysis of age and reproductive decline in the 'management' of infertility, by suggesting that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) 'use' age and reproductive decline to further endanger women's bodies by subjecting it to disaggregation into parts that do not belong to them anymore. Here, the category of age becomes a malleable concept to manipulate women seeking fertility management. In ethnographic findings from two Indian ART clinics, amongst women aged between 20 and 35 years visiting an IVF/ART clinic in Hyderabad city in South India, and women above 50 years of age visiting an IVF/ART clinic in Hisar in North India-reproductive bodies are similarly disaggregated. In case of younger women, the treatment is fixated on rescuing eggs that may be in 'decline', and in case of older women, the aim is to engineer a viable pregnancy. Thus, the constant focus on eggs and wombs in infertility treatment creates a body that is not only not whole but also completely without agency. Age becomes a category that has rhetorical value to 'push' or persuade women into particular forms of fertility management through infertility medicine. I undertake a problematization of the egg and the uterus through the identification of the recurring motif of the menstrual cycle within IVF treatment to suggest that bodily holism is not part of ART discourse that unethically thrives on promoting technological intrusions to promote its use and normalization.

Practical consensus recommendations on fertility preservation in patients with breast cancer

Young women diagnosed with cancer today have a greater chance of long-term survival than ever before. Successful survivorship for this group of patients includes maintaining a high quality of life after a cancer diagnosis and treatment; however, lifesaving treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can impact survivors by impairing reproductive and endocrine health. Expert oncologists along with reproductive medicine specialists discuss fertility preservation options in this chapter since fertility preservation is becoming a priority for young women with breast cancer. This expert group used data from published literature, practical experience and opinion of a large group of academic oncologists to arrive at these practical consensus recommendations for the benefit of community oncologists.

Study of 3He(n,p)3H reaction at cosmological energies with trojan horse method

In the network of reactions present in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the 3He(n, p)3H has an important role which impacts the final 7Li abundance. The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been applied to the 3He(d, pt)H reaction in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor of the 3He(n, p)3H in the Gamow energy range. The experiment will be described in the present work together with the first preliminary results.

Use of a chalazion clamp for intraoral biopsies: a technical note

Oral biopsies are common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in oral and maxillofacial surgical (OMFS) outpatient departments. The chalazion clamp is similar to a pair of forceps. One extension has a flat, solid, oval plate, the other, a ring-like structure that is used to clamp and retract soft tissues. We highlight the benefits of using this simple, widely-available tool during oral biopsies. We find that the clamp increases effectiveness and efficiency for the clinician and assistant. We recommend its use in daily OMFS practice.

Tuberculosis-diabetes screening: how well are we doing? A mixed-methods study from North India

Setting

Public health care facilities in Sonipat District, Haryana State, India.

Objectives

To assess 1) the proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients screened for diabetes mellitus (DM) and vice versa, 2) factors associated with screening, and 3) the enablers, barriers and solutions related to screening.

Design

A mixed-methods study with quantitative (cohort study involving record reviews of patients registered between November 2016 and April 2017) and qualitative (interviews of patients, health care providers [HCPs] and key district-level staff) components.

Results

Screening for TB among DM patients was not implemented, despite documents indicating that it had been. Of 562 TB patients, only 137 (24%) were screened for DM. TB patients registered at tertiary and secondary health centres were more likely to be screened than primary health centres. Low patient awareness, poor knowledge of guidelines among HCPs, lack of staff and inadequate training were barriers to screening. Enablers were the positive attitude of HCPs and programme staff. The key solutions suggested were to improve awareness of HCPs and patients regarding the need for screening, training of HCPs and wider availability of DM testing facilities.

Conclusion

The implementation of bidirectional screening was poor. Adequate staffing, regular training, continuous laboratory supplies for DM diagnosis and widespread publicity should be ensured.

ARTs and the problematic conceptualisation of declining reproduction

The routinisation of assisted reproduction in India has led to its proliferation and the easy identification of infertility. However, clinical and popular discourse tends to focus primarily on age-related deficiencies in reproduction. Here, both the "dangers" of declining reproduction as well as the facilitation of delayed reproduction are areas of focus and eulogisation. Bringing together the diverse elements of the medico-social conversation, the aim of this commentary is to examine the ways in which the ARTs are used to make sense of declining reproduction.

Phenotype of CNTNAP1: a study of patients demonstrating a specific severe congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy with survival beyond infancy

CHN is genetically heterogeneous and its genetic basis is difficult to determine on features alone. CNTNAP1 encodes CASPR, integral in the paranodal junction high molecular mass complex. Nineteen individuals with biallelic variants have been described in association with severe congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy, respiratory compromise, profound intellectual disability and death within the first year. We report 7 additional patients ascertained through exome sequencing. We identified 9 novel CNTNAP1 variants in 6 families: three missense variants, four nonsense variants, one frameshift variant and one splice site variant. Significant polyhydramnios occurred in 6/7 pregnancies. Severe respiratory compromise was seen in 6/7 (tracheostomy in 5). A complex neurological phenotype was seen in all patients who had marked brain hypomyelination/demyelination and profound developmental delay. Additional neurological findings included cranial nerve compromise: orobulbar dysfunction in 5/7, facial nerve weakness in 4/7 and vocal cord paresis in 5/7. Dystonia occurred in 2/7 patients and limb contractures in 5/7. All had severe gastroesophageal reflux, and a gastrostomy was required in 5/7. In contrast to most previous reports, only one patient died in the first year of life. Protein modelling was performed for all detected CNTNAP1 variants. We propose a genotype-phenotype correlation, whereby hypomorphic missense variants partially ameliorate the phenotype, prolonging survival. This study suggests that biallelic variants in CNTNAP1 cause a distinct recognisable syndrome, which is not caused by other genes associated with CHN. Neonates presenting with this phenotype will benefit from early genetic definition to inform clinical management and enable essential genetic counselling for their families.

Heterodyne x-ray diffuse scattering from coherent phonons

Here, we report Fourier-transform inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of photoexcited GaAs with embedded ErAs nanoparticles. We observe temporal oscillations in the x-ray scattering intensity, which we attribute to inelastic scattering from coherent acoustic phonons. Unlike in thermal equilibrium, where inelastic x-ray scattering is proportional to the phonon occupation, we show that the scattering is proportional to the phonon amplitude for coherent states. The wavevectors of the observed phonons extend beyond the excitation wavevector. The nanoparticles break the discrete translational symmetry of the lattice, enabling the generation of large wavevector coherent phonons. Elastic scattering of x-ray photons from the nanoparticles provides a reference for heterodyne mixing, yielding signals proportional to the phonon amplitude.

Caregiver's perception of epilepsy treatment, quality of life and comorbidities in an international cohort of CDKL5 patients

OBJECTIVE

CDKL5 is a genetic condition associated with drug-resistant epilepsy and intellectual disability. There is limited information on its natural history. We investigated the natural history, complications, and the effectiveness of current treatment strategies.

METHODS

This study was conducted in conjunction with the CDKL5-UK Charity, with patients recruited from the USA and Europe. Online questionnaires were completed by parents/carers and included information relating to demographics, growth, development, epilepsy, comorbid conditions, and efficacy and side effects of antiepileptic treatments.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine of the 44 patients were female. Median age was five years (range five months to 31 years), and all had a history of epilepsy. All patients had developmental delay, with 4/21 able to run and 4/22 able to climb. Gastrointestinal problems were reported in 31/43. Cardiac arrhythmia was seen in 11/29. Over one-quarter of the patients had tried ten or more antiepileptic medications. Vigabatrin was reportedly the most effective AED (antiepileptic drug) in 12/23; clobazam (most effective in 6/14); sodium valproate (most effective in 5/27), and levetiracetam (most effective in 3/27). VNS (Vagal Nerve Stimulator) was reported to be effective in 9/12. One year after VNS insertion, 9/12 reported improved (QoL), and there were improvements in mood, school achievement and concentration in (9/11). The ketogenic diet was considered effective and to have improved QoL in (12/23).

CONCLUSION

Vigabatrin appears to be more effective than other AEDs. VNS and ketogenic diet are also relatively effective. Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular system complications are common. The results may help to guide management of epilepsy in CDKL5. It highlights a possible link between CDKL5 and potentially treatable life-threatening complications such as cardiac arrhythmia. More research in this area may help us develop a more systematic approach to treating these patients. HIPPOKRATIA 2017, 21(3): 130-135.

An evaluation of the feasibility and validity of a patient-administered malnutrition universal screening tool ('MUST') compared to healthcare professional screening in an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) outpatient clinic

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is associated with poor health outcomes. Despite this, screening for malnutrition in the outpatient-setting is not routine and research in the area is limited. The present study aimed to evaluate whether agreement between malnutrition screening completed by patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) could be achieved by comparing patient self-administered 'MUST' ('MUST'-P) with HCP administered 'MUST' ('MUST'-HCP) in a single tertiary IBD outpatient clinic.

METHODS

We conducted a feasibility and validity study on adult outpatients with IBD. We collected anthropometric, nutritional and clinical data from patients. All patients completed 'MUST'-P using a self-administered questionnaire, followed by 'MUST'-HCP. 'MUST'-P was timed and feedback on ease-of-use was obtained. The risk of malnutrition was classified as low (score = 0), medium (score = 1) and high (score ≥ 2) and agreement was tested using kappa statistics (κ).

RESULTS

Eighty patients were recruited (Crohn's disease: n = 49, ulcerative colitis: n = 29, unclassified: n = 2), with a mean (SD) age of 39.9 (15.1) years (51.2% were males). Seventy-one (92%) of patients found 'MUST'-P either easy or very easy. The mean (SD) time to complete 'MUST'-P was 3.1  (1.8) min (range 1-10 min). Sixty-eight (85%) of patients were at low risk of malnutrition when screened by the HCP. There was moderate agreement (κ = 0.486, P < 0.001) between 'MUST'-P and 'MUST'-HCP, with 100% agreement in scoring for medium- and high-risk categories.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present study suggests that self-screening using 'MUST' could be effectively used in an IBD outpatient clinic to identify those at medium and high risk of malnutrition. The patient friendly version of 'MUST' ('MUST'-P) was considered quick and easy to use by patients. Implementation of self-screening with 'MUST' could improve the nutritional management of IBD patients.

Evolutionary algorithm optimization of biological learning parameters in a biomimetic neuroprosthesis

Biomimetic simulation permits neuroscientists to better understand the complex neuronal dynamics of the brain. Embedding a biomimetic simulation in a closed-loop neuroprosthesis, which can read and write signals from the brain, will permit applications for amelioration of motor, psychiatric, and memory-related brain disorders. Biomimetic neuroprostheses require real-time adaptation to changes in the external environment, thus constituting an example of a dynamic data-driven application system. As model fidelity increases, so does the number of parameters and the complexity of finding appropriate parameter configurations. Instead of adapting synaptic weights via machine learning, we employed major biological learning methods: spike-timing dependent plasticity and reinforcement learning. We optimized the learning metaparameters using evolutionary algorithms, which were implemented in parallel and which used an island model approach to obtain sufficient speed. We employed these methods to train a cortical spiking model to utilize macaque brain activity, indicating a selected target, to drive a virtual musculoskeletal arm with realistic anatomical and biomechanical properties to reach to that target. The optimized system was able to reproduce macaque data from a comparable experimental motor task. These techniques can be used to efficiently tune the parameters of multiscale systems, linking realistic neuronal dynamics to behavior, and thus providing a useful tool for neuroscience and neuroprosthetics.

Functionalization of silica particles to tune the impact resistance of shear thickening fluid treated aramid fabrics

Kevlar fabrics treated with MTMS modified silica based STF showed better impact energy absorption as compared to APTES modified and control silica based STF treated fabrics, attributed to changes in interactions between fabrics and silica particles.

Assessment of health-related quality of life and its determinants in patients with chronic kidney disease

Health-related quality of life is an important, yet neglected aspect of chronic kidney disease (CKD) care. We evaluated the quality of life and its determinants across CKD 3 to 5D using a kidney disease specific tool (Kidney Disease Quality of Life-SF™) in an underprivileged, predominantly rural population with high rates of illiteracy and unemployment. The scores of individual domains were summarized to three composite scores – physical composite summary (PCS), mental composite summary (MCS), and kidney disease component summary score (KDCS)^. A total number of 204 participants were recruited from nephrology outpatient clinics. About 68.1% of participants were males. The mean age of the study population was 49.14 ± 13.63 years. There was a high proportion of illiteracy (36.3%) and unemployment (80.9%). KDCS showed a significant decline (P = 0.01) from CKD 3 to CKD 5D whereas MCS and PCS showed a nonsignificant decrease. There was no difference in KDCS, PCS, or MCS scores between patients treated by hemodialysis and CAPD. Illiteracy and unemployment were associated with significantly lower KDCS, PCS, and MCS scores. Age ≥50 years was associated with poor PCS (29.49 ± 8.20 vs. 34.17 ± 9.99; P < 0.001). Hemoglobin <10 g/dL was associated with poor KDCS (58.93 ± 13.09 vs. 65.55 ± 13.38; P < 0.001) and PCS (29.56 ± 8.13 vs. 33.37 ± 9.82; P < 0.001). The presence of comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension had no impact on the composite scores. KDCS, MCS, or PCS scores did not vary among patients having high serum phosphorus (≥4.5 mg/dL), low albumin (<3.5 g/dL), and elevated parathyroid hormone (≥150 pg/ml). On multiple linear regression analysis, the predictors of KDCS were unemployment (P < 0.001) and illiteracy (P = 0.03). Unemployment (P < 0.001) and age (P < 0.001) were predictors of PCS whereas literacy level (P < 0.001) was predictive of MCS.

Mononuclear bis(dithiolene) Mo(iv) and W(iv) complexes with P,P; S,S; O,S and O,O donor ligands: a comparative reactivity study

Comparative redox reactions of eight Mo^IV/W^IVcomplexes with P,P; S,S; S,O and O,O donor ligands are presented.

Resveratrol and pterostilbene attenuated smokeless tobacco induced cardiovascular aberrations in estrogen deficient female rats

This study evaluated the impact of resveratrol (RSV) and pterostilbene (PT) on the aqueous extract of smokeless tobacco (AEST) induced cardiovascular aberrations in estrogen deficient female Sprague-Dawley rats. Exposure to 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) (80 mg kg-1, i.p.) for 30 days induces estrogen deficiency. The rats were administered AEST alone or AEST along with resveratrol and/or pterostilbene. Several markers of cardiovascular health were estimated to evaluate the repercussion of the exposures. RSV and PT per se and in combination significantly reversed the derangements caused by AEST. RSV decreased the atherogenic index and systolic blood pressure and normalized ECG. RSV and PT treatment markedly decreased aortic collagen, cardiac-carbonylated proteins, serum creatine-kinase, cholesterol, LDH, LDL, VLDL, CRP and TNF-α levels. Conversely, they increased serum nitrate-nitrite and HDL levels. The drugs improved the gene expression of SIRT1, PGC-1α, PPAR-α, TFAM, NRF-1 and mtDNA in the cardiac tissue. However, the expression of SIRT1 was not modified by PT. These favorable effects were comparable to those of estradiol therapy. Histopathological outcomes also corroborated these benefits. Thus, resveratrol and pterostilbene abrogated the deleterious effects of AEST on cardiovascular parameters in estrogen deficient female rats.

Systematic review: current concepts and challenges for the direct-acting antiviral era in hepatitis C cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

The burden of HCV cirrhosis is high and projected to increase significantly over the next decade. While interferon therapy is problematic in HCV cirrhosis, the era of direct-acting anti-viral (DAA) therapy provides effective treatment for patients with cirrhosis.

AIM

To systematically review the results of DAA therapy to date in patients with HCV cirrhosis, and highlight the ongoing challenges for DAA therapy in this population.

METHODS

A structured Medline search was conducted to obtain phase II and III HCV trials in patients with cirrhosis. Citations from review articles were cross-referenced and conference abstracts from EASL and AASLD liver meetings for the preceding 3 years were reviewed manually. Keywords used included hepatitis C, cirrhosis and the DAA's: sofosbuvir, ledipasvir, velpatasvir, grazoprevir, elbasvir, daclatasvir, beclabuvir, asunaprevir, simeprevir, paritaprevir, ombitasvir and dasabuvir.

RESULTS

Successful direct-acting anti-viral treatment is now possible in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis including those with liver decompensation with several regimens now offering sustained virological response (SVR) of 90-95%. Overall success rates in GT1 cirrhosis are excellent while GT3-infected patients with cirrhosis remain hard to cure. The pangenotypic combination of sofosbuvir and velpatasvir holds promise for GT3 cirrhosis achieving SVR of ~90%.

CONCLUSIONS

Potent DAA therapies provide much needed, safe and highly effective treatment options for persons with HCV cirrhosis including those previously deemed unsuitable for treatment. Combination therapy with two or more classes of drug is essential to achieve high efficacy and minimise viral resistance, with the role of ribavirin still under evaluation. However, several challenges remain including the hard-to-cure groups of GT3 cirrhosis and direct-acting anti-viral failures, and managing drug-drug interactions.

Energy efficient acquisition and reconstruction of EEG signals

In Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) the energy consumption is dominated by sensing and communication. Previous Compressed Sensing (CS) based solutions to EEG tele-monitoring over WBAN's could only reduce the communication cost. In this work, we propose a matrix completion based formulation that can also reduce the energy consumption for sensing. We test our method with state-of-the-art CS based techniques and find that the reconstruction accuracy from our method is significantly better and that too at considerably less energy consumption. Our method is also tested for post-reconstruction signal classification where it outperforms previous CS based techniques. At the heart of the system is an Analog to Information Converter (AIC) implemented in 65nm CMOS technology. The pseudorandom clock generator enables random under-sampling and subsequent conversion by the 12-bit Successive Approximation Register Analog to Digital Converter (SAR ADC). AIC achieves a sample rate of 0.5 KS/s, an ENOB 9.54 bits, and consumes 108 nW from 1 V power supply.