Perceptions of community- and family-level injection drug user (IDU)- and HIV-related stigma, disclosure decisions and experiences with layered stigma among HIV-positive IDUs in Vietnam.

This paper explores how perceived stigma and layered stigma related to injection drug use and being HIV-positive influence the decision to disclose one's HIV status to family and community and experiences with stigma following disclosure among a population of HIV-positive male injection drug users (IDUs) in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. In qualitative interviews conducted between 2007 and 2008, 25 HIV-positive male IDUs described layered stigma in their community but an absence of layered stigma within their families. These findings suggest the importance of community-level HIV prevention interventions that counter stigma and support families caring for HIV-positive relatives.

Clinical profile of autoimmune pancreatitis and its histological subtypes: an international multicenter survey.

Objective: The objective of this study was to clarify the clinical and pathophysiological characteristics of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and its subtypes (lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis [LPSP] and idiopathic duct-centric pancreatitis [IDCP]) seen around the world.

Methods: An international multicenter survey of AIP was conducted in 15 institutes from 8 countries. We compared clinical and pathologic profiles of AIP (n = 731) and the clinical profiles of LPSP (n = 204) and IDCP (n = 64) patients.

Baicalein, a component of Scutellaria baicalensis, induces apoptosis by Mcl-1 down-regulation in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) and SB-derived polyphenols possess anti-proliferative activities in several cancers, including pancreatic cancer (PaCa). However, the precise molecular mechanisms have not been fully defined. SB extract and SB-derived polyphenols (wogonin, baicalin, and baicalein) were used to determine their anti-proliferative mechanisms.

The effect of neighborhood deprivation and residential relocation on long-term injection cessation among injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, Maryland.

Aims: To determine the incidence of long-term injection cessation and its association with residential relocation and neighborhood deprivation.

Design: ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) is a prospective cohort with semi-annual follow-up since 1988. Multi-level discrete time-to-event models were constructed to investigate individual and neighborhood-level predictors of long-term injection cessation.

Overexpression of CXCL5 is associated with poor survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (CXCL5), a member of the CXC chemokine family, has been shown to be involved in angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between CXCL5 expression and tumor progression in human pancreatic cancer and to elucidate the mechanism underlying CXCL5-mediated tumor angiogenesis and cancer growth. We report herein that CXCL5 is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer compared with paired normal pancreas tissue.

Neuroendocrine tumors: current recommendations for diagnosis and surgical management.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare neoplasms found in diverse locations within the body. These tumors are commonly classified by the primary tumor's location, further subclassified by their differentiation, and finally segregated by their ability to hypersecrete peptides or amines. A number of groups have summarized their recommendations for diagnosis and therapy; however, the rarity of these lesions makes prospective randomized multiinstitutional trials difficult.

Trajectories of injection drug use over 20 years (1988-2008) in Baltimore, Maryland.

The objective of this study was to identify longitudinal patterns of injection drug use over 20 years in the AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience (ALIVE) Study, a community-based cohort of injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, Maryland, with a focus on injection cessation. Starting in 1988, persons over 18 years of age with a history of injection drug use were recruited into the study. Participants provided information on their injection drug use semiannually through 2008.

Influence of Perceived Secondary Stigma and Family on the Response to HIV Infection Among Injection Drug Users in Vietnam.

The full impact of secondary stigma (stigma directed at family) on an HIV-positive individual is unknown. This qualitative research explores perceptions of secondary stigma in the Vietnamese context and its influence on the ways in which an injection drug user (IDU) copes with HIV infection. Data on experiences learning one's HIV status, disclosure decisions, family reactions, and stigma from family and community were collected through in-depth interviews with 25 HIV-positive IDUs recruited through a health center in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.

Nutrition and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are relatively rare neoplasms that characteristically synthesize and secrete an excess of a variety of regulatory peptides, hormones, and neuroamines, which regulate gut and pancreatic function. This excess can lead to distinct clinical syndromes. Therapeutic strategies include surgery, radiofrequency ablation, chemotherapy, chemoembolization, and biotherapy using somatostatin analogs.

Mortality and HIV transmission among male Vietnamese injection drug users.

Aims: To estimate all-cause mortality rate and to assess predictors of all-cause mortality among injection drug users (IDUs) in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam between 2005 and 2007.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Community-dwelling IDUs were enrolled and followed at 3-month intervals for up to 2 years.

Membrane proteomic analysis of pancreatic cancer cells.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human tumors due to its high potential of local invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to characterize the membrane proteomes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells of primary and metastatic origins, and to identify potential target proteins related to metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Membrane/membrane-associated proteins were isolated from AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells and identified with a proteomic approach based on SDS-PAGE, in-gel tryptic digestion and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Characteristics of high-risk HIV-positive IDUs in Vietnam: implications for future interventions.

The HIV epidemic in Vietnam is concentrated primarily among injecting drug users (IDUs). To prevent HIV-1 superinfection and to develop effective HIV prevention programs, data are needed to understand the characteristics of high-risk HIV-positive IDUs. In 2003 , we conducted a community-based cross-sectional study among predominately male, out-of-treatment IDUs, aged 18?45, in the Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam.

Tracer-based metabolomics: concepts and practices.

Tracer-based metabolomics is a systems biology tool that combines advances in tracer methodology for physiological studies, high throughput "-omics" technologies and constraint based modeling of metabolic networks. It is different from the commonly known metabolomics or metabonomics in that it is a targeted approach based on a metabolic network model in cells. Because of its complexity, it is the least understood among the various "-omics.

Factors associated with the perpetration of sexual violence among wine-shop patrons in Chennai, India.

With an estimated 2.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, India has the third highest number of HIV-infected people in the world. Despite reductions in prevalence among the general population, the percentage of all infections occurring among Indian women is continuing to rise.

White tea extract induces apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cells: the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-{gamma} and 15-lipoxygenases.

Emerging preclinical data suggests that tea possess anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic properties. We therefore hypothesize that white tea extract (WTE) is capable of favorably modulating apoptosis, a mechanism associated with lung tumorigenesis. We examined the effects of physiologically relevant doses of WTE on the induction of apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549 (adenocarcinoma) and H520 (squamous cell carcinoma) cells.

Neuroendocrine tumors: a critical appraisal of management strategies.

Objectives: This supplement represents the proceedings of a panel of investigators whose goal was to assess the quality of evidence pertaining to current therapeutic approaches in the management of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). It will examine the differences in opinions between expert faculty and community physicians.

Methods: The Neuroendocrine Tumors Summit convened in December 2009 to address 6 statements prepared by panel members that reflect important questions in the management of NETs.

High prevalence of forced sex among non-brothel based, wine shop centered sex workers in Chennai, India.

Sexual violence has been shown to increase women's risk of HIV infection. India is a country where the HIV epidemic is growing among women and intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive. This study examined prevalence of and factors associated with forced sex among female sex workers (FSWs) in Chennai, India.

Quercetin aglycone is bioavailable in murine pancreas and pancreatic xenografts.

Quercetin is a potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent for pancreatic and other cancers. This study examined the distribution of quercetin in plasma, lung, liver, pancreas, and pancreatic cancer xenografts in a murine in vivo model and the uptake of quercetin in pancreatic cancer MiaPaCa-2 cells in a cellular in vitro model. Mice were randomly allocated to control or 0.

A prospective trial on the effect of body mass index and sex on plasma octreotide levels in patients undergoing long-term octreotide LAR therapy.

Objectives: Octreotide long acting repeatable (LAR) is commonly used to control the symptoms of patients with functional neuroendocrine tumors. Unfortunately, most patients escape control over time and require higher LAR doses or more frequent rescue therapy to remain asymptomatic. Previous work has shown that body weight and monthly LAR dose will significantly affect circulating plasma octreotide levels in patients undergoing therapy.

Potent hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone microinjected into the rostroventrolateral medulla and abnormal responses in type 2 diabetic rats.

We identified ventrolateral medullary nuclei in which thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) regulates glucose metabolism by modulating autonomic activity. Immunolabeling revealed dense prepro-TRH-containing fibers innervating the rostroventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and nucleus ambiguus (Amb), which contain, respectively, pre-sympathetic motor neurons and vagal motor neurons. In anesthetized Wistar rats, microinjection of the stable TRH analog RX77368 (38-150 pmol) into the RVLM dose-dependently and site-specifically induced hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia.

Epigenetic regulation affects N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 expression indirectly in pancreatic cancer cells.

Objectives: N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1), important in tumor growth and metastasis, has recently gained interest as a potential therapeutic target. Loss of NDRG1 expression is generally associated with poor clinical outcome in pancreatic cancer (PaCa) patients. As the NDRG1 gene possesses a large promoter CpG island, we sought to determine whether its repression is epigenetically mediated in PaCa cells.