Adaptation of a Couple-Based HIV Intervention for Methamphetamine-Involved African American Men who have Sex with Men.

In the U.S., incidence of HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) has steadily increased since the 1990s.

Walking the line: stimulant use during sex and HIV risk behavior among Black urban MSM.

Background: Although the association of stimulant use to sexual risk taking and HIV transmission has been well documented among white gay men, stimulant use during sex continues to be under-explored among Black men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: Black MSM (n=197) recruited via modified respondent-driven sampling between January and July 2008 completed an interviewer-administered quantitative assessment and optional HIV counseling and testing. Bivariate logistic regression procedures were employed to examine the association of demographics, sexual risk, and other psychosocial factors with stimulant use (at least monthly during sex in the past 12 months).

[Cloning and sequence of thyrotropin beta subunit of a teleost fish: the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.)].

We obtained the sequence of eel thyrotropin beta-subunit cDNA. About 1,100 bp long, it encodes a 147-amino acid protein including a 20-residue signal peptide. We analyse homologies between angTSH beta and the other known beta-subunits taking in account the ability of mammal gonadotropins (GTH) to stimulate teleost thyroid.

Differential distribution and response to experimental sexual maturation of two forms of brain gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla.

Using specific radioimmunoassays for the two GnRH molecular forms present in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla, (mGnRH and cGnRH II), we compared their distributions in the pituitary and different parts of the brain of female silver eels, as well as the modifications of their levels in experimentally matured female eels (treated with carp pituitary extract). In control eels, mGnRH levels were higher than cGnRH II levels in the pituitary, olfactory lobes and telencephalon, di- and mesencephalon, while the opposite was found in the posterior part of the brain (met- and myelencephalon). Experimental sexual maturation of the gonads significantly increased mGnRH levels in the pituitary and anterior parts of the brain; such a positive effect was not observed on the low cGnRH II levels, which were, in contrast, reduced.

Regulation of the type-II gonadotrophin alpha and beta subunit mRNAs by oestradiol and testosterone in the European eel.

The gonadotrophic function of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) at the silver stage is very weak: gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion is deficient and, moreover, dopamine inhibition overrides GnRH action. At the silver stage, oestradiol stimulates the biosynthesis of the type-II gonadotrophin (GTH-II).

[Purification and characterization of presumed thyrotropic hormone subunits of a teleost fish, the eel (Anguilla anguilla)].

We have only a partial knowledge of fish thyrotropins (TSH) and no data about peptide sequence are available. Various HPLC techniques allowed us to purify a 31.4 kDa, heterodimeric protein from saline eel pituitary extracts containing TSH activity.

Cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNA for the pituitary glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit of the European eel.

A cDNA library constructed using mRNAs isolated from pituitary glands of estradiol-treated eels was screened with a cDNA fragment for the rat glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit. Three out of 10,000 cDNA clones were revealed and subcloned in pUC13 for characterization and sequencing. All three had the same nucleotide sequence except for a single, silent change in the coding sequence for one of them, and for the location of the poly(A) tail.

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNA for the putative beta subunit of the type-II gonadotrophin from the European eel.

Oestradiol treatment enhances type-II gonadotrophin (GTH-II) synthesis in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at the silver stage. As a first step in studying the molecular mechanisms involved in this stimulation, we cloned and characterized the cDNA encoding the beta subunit of eel GTH-II. A cDNA library was constituted in lambda gt10 from oestradiol-treated eels.

Chromatographic and immunological evidence for mammalian GnRH and chicken GnRH II in eel (Anguilla anguilla) brain and pituitary.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) peptides in the brain and pituitary of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) were investigated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radioimmunoassay with region-specific antisera. Two GnRH molecular forms were demonstrated in brain and pituitary extracts. One form eluted in the same position as synthetic mammalian GnRH on HPLC and was recognized by antibodies directed against the NH2 and COOH termini of mammalian GnRH as well as by antibodies to the middle region.

[Hormonal stimulation, in vivo, of the ovary of European eel in the yellow stage].

The immature ovary of yellow eel was stimulated by a long-term treatment with a gonadotropin II rich extract of carp pituitary. Ovarian follicles of treated yellow eels showed an accumulation of lipidic vacuoles in the oocyte cytoplasm and a thickened follicular envelope (in this regard, they resembled the ovarian follicles of previously studied silver eels). The treatment also resulted in a significant but limited increase in the gonadosomatic ratio and mean follicle size (these values were much lower than those measured in silver eels).

Purification and properties of the DNA-binding protein HPB12 from Bacillus subtilis nucleoid.

We report the purification to homogeneity of a 12 KDa protein (HPB12) present in the nucleoids of Bacillus subtilis. From the purification data the abundance of the protein was estimated to about 20,000 monomers per cell. The HPB12 protein is heat-stable and acid-soluble and binds preferentially to supercoiled and linearized double-stranded DNAs.

Positive feedback control by the gonads on gonadotropin (GTH) and gonadoliberin (GnRH) levels in experimentally matured female silver eels,Anguilla anguilla.

Treatment of sham-operated female silver eels with carp pituitary extract stimulated ovarian development and induced increases in pituitary gonadotropin (GTH) and gonadoliberin (GnRH) contents. Both effects of carp pituitary extract were abolished in ovariectomized eels, indicating the involvement of the gonads. Endogenous sexual steroids, the secretion of which was increased during sexual maturation, should be responsible for the stimulation of GTH and GnRH levels.

Stimulation of gonadotropin release and of ovarian development, by the administration of a gonadoliberin agonist and of dopamine antagonists, in female silver eel pretreated with estradiol.

In freshwater or seawater female silver eel, the release of gonadotropin (GTH) accumulated in the pituitary under estradiol (E2) influence could be stimulated by a conjugated treatment with a mammalian gonadoliberin agonist (GnRH-A = des-Gly10, (D-Ala6)-LH-RH ethylamide) and a blocker of dopamine receptor (pimozide). Furthermore, despite the GTH release, no reduction or even a significant increase in pituitary GTH levels were noted, indicating a stimulation of GTH synthesis. In consequence of the endogenous GTH release, a stimulation of ovarian development was induced, as demonstrated by the gonadosomatic index and histological study.

[Radioimmunoassay, in Ascidiella aspersa, of a gonadoliberin (GnRH)- like factor with an apparent molecular weight higher than that of the mammalian decapeptide].

A radiommunoassay (RIA) for mammalian gonadoliberin (mGnRH) showed the presence of a GnRH-like factor in the neural complex of a Protochordate, Ascidiella aspersa (about 0,6 pg eq mGnRH/complex). The slope of the displacement curves was slightly lower than with mGnRH indicating antigene differences. No cross reactive material was found in mantle and siphonal area.

Estradiol has inverse effects on pituitary glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit messenger ribonucleic acid in the immature European eel and the gonadectomized rat.

In teleosts, the pituitary contains a single glycoprotein gonadotropic hormone (GTH) composed of two dissimilar alpha- and beta-subunits. The European eel, Anguilla anguilla L, is sexually immature at the silver stage due to a deficiency in GTH synthesis and secretion. In previous studies we (S.

Plasma concentrations of ovarian steroids in the freshwater European silver eel (Anguilla anguilla L.): effects of hypophysectomy and transfer to sea water.

Intact and hypophysectomized freshwater (FW) silver eels were transferred to tanks of FW or artificial sea water (SW; salinity = 0.60 osmol/l) which were simultaneously renewed twice a week. Fish were killed 2 months after transfer and plasma was assayed for ovarian steroids.

[Demonstration of specific binding sites for carp gonadotropin in ovary membrane preparations of Anguilla (Anguilla anguilla L.)].

Membrane preparations from silver eel ovary bind specifically labeled carp gonadotropin (cGTH 125I); similar preparations from kidney, liver, brain, and muscle exhibit either no or negligible specific binding. cGTH and partially purified eel pituitary extract, but neither hCG nor bTSH, inhibit cGTH 125I specific binding in a dose-dependent way. However, a high membrane concentration can bind hCG 125I and this binding is partly inhibited by excess hCG, thus suggesting the existence of a relatively small number of sites able to recognize this hormone.

[Accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in the ovary of the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) in vitro under the effect of carp gonadotropin or ovine lutropin: kinetics and thermodependence].

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) in pieces of eel ovary was greatly increased in vitro by the gonadotropin (cGTH) of carp, another teleost fish; after one hour at 20 degrees C, maximal stimulation = 31.7 and E.D.

Increase in brain and pituitary radioimmunoassayable gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) in the European silver eel treated with sexual steroid or human chorionic gonadotropin.

In the female silver eel, a single estradiol 17 beta (E2) injection significantly increased radioimmunoassayable GnRH (IRGnRH) in the di- and mesencephalon and also in the telencephalon and olfactory lobes, during the first following days; after a chronic estradiol treatment, the pituitary IRGnRH was doubled. In the male silver eel, a single injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is able to induce a progressive testicular development and a durable increase in androgens production, produced a long-term effect on IRGnRH: IRGnRH was significantly increased in the same brain areas as in E2-treated females; a more important rise (10-fold) was observed for pituitary IRGnRH, probably reflecting the accumulation of GnRH in the axonal endings which directly innervate the pituitary in teleosts. These results suggest a positive effect of sexual steroids on GnRH synthesis but not release in the silver eel.

Human chorionic gonadotrophin and immature fish ovary: characterization and mechanism of the in vitro stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate accumulation.

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in pieces of eel ovary in vitro. Although the ED50 (about 0.1 micrograms/ml) was the same as for carp gonadotrophin (cGTH), the maximal stimulation (close to 3 times basal level) was about 10 times lower than that for the fish hormone.

Pseudotumoral ureteral kinking: a computed tomography pitfall.

On computed tomography, the kinking of a large ureter may falsely suggest an ureteral tumor. This pitfall likely correlates with the intraluminal protrusion of the ureteral wall folds.

Transformation of a pericardial cyst observed on long-term follow-up.

An atypical pattern of pericardial cyst was observed on a routine chest radiograph of a healthy 25-year-old woman. It appeared as an important elevation of the right diaphragm. The cystic nature of the mass was easily disclosed by ultrasonography and computed tomography, but its location--thoracic, diaphragmatic, or subphrenic--remained questionable.