Drug-induced long QT syndrome (diLQTS), characterized by a prolongation of the QT-interval on the electrocardiogram (ECG), is a serious adverse drug reaction that can cause the life-threatening arrhythmia Torsade de Points (TdP). Self-monitoring for diLQTS could therefore save lives, but detecting it on the ECG is difficult, particularly at high and low heart rates. In this paper, we evaluate whether using a pseudo-colouring visualisation technique and changing the coordinate system (Cartesian vs. Polar) can support lay people in identifying QT-prolongation at varying heart rates. Four visualisation techniques were evaluated using a counterbalanced repeated measures design including Cartesian no-colouring, Cartesian pseudo-colouring, Polar no-colouring and Polar pseudo-colouring. We used a multi-reader, multi-case (MRMC) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study design within a psychophysical paradigm, along with eye-tracking technology. Forty-three lay participants read forty ECGs (TdP risk n = 20, no risk n = 20), classifying each QT-interval as normal/abnormal, and rating their confidence on a 6-point scale. The results show that introducing pseudo-colouring to the ECG significantly increased accurate detection of QT-interval prolongation regardless of heart rate, T-wave morphology and coordinate system. Pseudo-colour also helped to reduce reaction times and increased satisfaction when reading the ECGs. Eye movement analysis indicated that pseudo-colour helped to focus visual attention on the areas of the ECG crucial to detecting QT-prolongation. The study indicates that pseudo-colouring enables lay people to visually identify drug-induced QT-prolongation regardless of heart rate, with implications for the more rapid identification and management of diLQTS.
  Psychological treatments improve depressive symptoms in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Adaptation of treatments should be based on explanatory models of depression and other elements within the given context.
 
  This study aimed to examine explanatory models of depression and acceptable approaches for implementation of group IPT in Northwest Ethiopia.
 
  Qualitative data were collected from April to May 2019 from case managers, adherence supporters and service users using focus group discussion and analysed thematically.
 
  PLWHA attributed depression to psychosocial problems, spiritual factors and biological factors. Depression had several impacts at individual and family level. Group-based interpersonal therapy (IPT) was acceptable if provided by trained peer counselors.
 
  The current study findings informed how to conduct feasibility and acceptability trials of group IPT in the HIV population in Ethiopia.
 The current study findings informed how to conduct feasibility and acceptability trials of group IPT in the HIV population in Ethiopia.Being delivered as a low birthweight (LBW) infant is a risk factor for elevated blood pressure and future problems with cardiovascular and cerebellar diseases. Although premature babies are reported to have low numbers of nephrons, some unclear questions remain about the mechanisms underlying elevated blood pressure in full-term LBW infants. We previously reported that glucocorticoids increased miR-449a expression, and increased miR-449a expression suppressed Crhr1 expression and caused negative glucocorticoid feedback. Therefore, we conducted this study to clarify the involvement of pituitary miR-449a in the increase in blood pressure caused by higher glucocorticoids in LBW rats. We generated a fetal low-carbohydrate and calorie-restricted model rat (60% of standard chow), and some individuals showed postnatal growth failure caused by growth hormone receptor expression. Using this model, we examined how a high-fat diet (lard-based 45kcal% fat)-induced mismatch between prenatal and postnatal environments coulew therapeutic target for hypertension of LBW individuals.In the present study, a new class of heavy tailed distributions using the T-X family approach is introduced. The proposed family is called type-I heavy tailed family.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/FK-506-(Tacrolimus).html  A special model of the proposed class, named Type-I Heavy Tailed Weibull (TI-HTW) model is studied in detail. We adopt the approach of maximum likelihood estimation for estimating its parameters, and assess the maximum likelihood performance based on biases and mean squared errors via a Monte Carlo simulation framework. Actuarial quantities such as value at risk and tail value at risk are derived. A simulation study for these actuarial measures is conducted, proving that the proposed TI-HTW is a heavy-tailed model. Finally, we provide a comparative study to illustrate the proposed method by analyzing three real data sets from different disciplines such as reliability engineering, bio-medical and financial sciences. The analytical results of the new TI-HTW model are compared with the Weibull and some other non-nested distributions. The Baysesian analysis is discussed to measure the model complexity based on the deviance information criterion.The benefits of involving patients as partners in research across diverse medical and psychiatric settings are well established in the literature. However, researchers continue to struggle to access, engage and retain participants from hard-to-reach populations. The main objective of this study was to co-create pet therapy activities with patients admitted for serious and complex mental illness to a large urban mental health and addiction hospital. Informed by the principles of participatory action research methodology, we conducted focus group discussions with 38 inpatients in seven different clinical units. An experienced volunteer handler and a certified therapy dog helped facilitate our discussions. Participating researchers, recreational therapists, volunteer handlers and our participants all reported that the presence of a certified therapy dog at each of our discussions was integral to their success. Certified therapy dogs increased the motivation to participate in our study, helped to build rapport with participants and created connections in our discussions that enriched our data. To our knowledge our study is the first to demonstrate the value of using a therapy dog as a participatory research tool in a healthcare setting. The authors believe that therapy dogs are a low-tech intervention that could be used effectively to engage hard-to-reach populations in research about their treatment and care in a diverse range of medical settings. These findings support the creation of a pilot study to test the value of including therapy dogs in patient-centered research with vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.