HIV serostatus disclosure: development and validation of indicators considering target and modality. Results from a community-based research in 5 countries.

Rationale: HIV serostatus disclosure is a complex challenge for persons living with HIV (PLHIV). Despite its beneficial effects, it can also lead to stigmatization and rejection. The current lack of multi-dimensional measurement tools impede an in-depth understanding of the dynamic of disclosure.

In vivo quantification of (177)Lu with planar whole-body and SPECT/CT gamma camera imaging.

Background: Advances in gamma camera technology and the emergence of a number of new theranostic radiopharmaceutical pairings have re-awakened interest in in vivo quantification with single-photon-emitting radionuclides. We have implemented and validated methodology to provide quantitative imaging of (177)Lu for 2D whole-body planar studies and for 3D tomographic imaging with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT.

Methods: Whole-body planar scans were performed on subjects to whom a known amount of [(177)Lu]-DOTA-octreotate had been administered for therapy.

Adult Lung Spheroid Cells Contain Progenitor Cells and Mediate Regeneration in Rodents With Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Unlabelled: Lung diseases are devastating conditions and ranked as one of the top five causes of mortality worldwide according to the World Health Organization. Stem cell therapy is a promising strategy for lung regeneration. Previous animal and clinical studies have focused on the use of mesenchymal stem cells (from other parts of the body) for lung regenerative therapies.

Differential behaviour of cationic triphenylamine derivatives in fixed and living cells: triggering and imaging cell death.

Triphenylamines are on/off fluorescent DNA minor groove binders, allowing nuclear staining of fixed cells. By contrast, they accumulate in the cytoplasm of living cells and efficiently trigger cell apoptosis upon prolonged visible light irradiation. This process occurs concomitantly with their subcellular re-localization to the nucleus, enabling fluorescence imaging of apoptosis.

Reference Intervals in Neonatal Hematology.

The various blood cell counts of neonates must be interpreted in accordance with high-quality reference intervals based on gestational and postnatal age. Using very large sample sizes, we generated neonatal reference intervals for each element of the complete blood count (CBC). Knowledge of whether a patient has CBC values that are too high (above the upper reference interval) or too low (below the lower reference interval) provides important insights into the specific disorder involved and in many instances suggests a treatment plan.

Requirement of the FATC domain of protein kinase Tel1 for localization to DNA ends and target protein recognition.

Two large phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related protein kinases (PIKKs), ATM and ATR, play a central role in the DNA damage response pathway. PIKKs contain a highly conserved extreme C-terminus called the FRAP-ATM-TRRAP-C-terminal (FATC) domain. In budding yeast, ATM and ATR correspond to Tel1 and Mec1, respectively.

Practice type effects on head impact in collegiate football.

Unlabelled: OBJECT IVE: This study directly compares the number and severity of subconcussive head impacts sustained during helmet-only practices, shell practices, full-pad practices, and competitive games in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football team. The goal of the study was to determine whether subconcussive head impact in collegiate athletes varies with practice type, which is currently unregulated by the NCAA.

Methods: Over an entire season, a cohort of 20 collegiate football players wore impact-sensing mastoid patches that measured the linear and rotational acceleration of all head impacts during a total of 890 athletic exposures.

Note: Radiochemical measurement of fuel and ablator areal densities in cryogenic implosions at the National Ignition Facility.

A new radiochemical method for determining deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel and plastic ablator (CH) areal densities (ρR) in high-convergence, cryogenic inertial confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility is described. It is based on measuring the (198)Au/(196)Au activation ratio using the collected post-shot debris of the Au hohlraum. The Au ratio combined with the independently measured neutron down scatter ratio uniquely determines the areal densities ρR(DT) and ρR(CH) during burn in the context of a simple 1-dimensional capsule model.

Thrombocytopenia in Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants.

Background: Thrombocytopenia is common among small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonates (birth weight <10th percentile reference range), but several aspects of this thrombocytopenia are unclear, including the incidence, typical nadir, duration, association with preeclampsia, mechanism, and risk of death.

Methods: Using 9 years of multihospital records, we studied SGA neonates with ≥2 platelet counts <150,000/μL in their first week.

Results: We found first-week thrombocytopenia in 31% (905 of 2891) of SGA neonates versus 10% of non-SGA matched controls (P < .

Building a multi-scaled geospatial temporal ecology database from disparate data sources: fostering open science and data reuse.

Although there are considerable site-based data for individual or groups of ecosystems, these datasets are widely scattered, have different data formats and conventions, and often have limited accessibility. At the broader scale, national datasets exist for a large number of geospatial features of land, water, and air that are needed to fully understand variation among these ecosystems. However, such datasets originate from different sources and have different spatial and temporal resolutions.

Experiments on Hemoglobin in Single Crystals and Silica Gels Distinguish among Allosteric Models.

Trapping quaternary structures of hemoglobin in single crystals or by encapsulation in silica gels has provided a demanding set of data to test statistical mechanical models of allostery. In this work, we compare the results of those experiments with predictions of the four major allosteric models for hemoglobin: the quaternary two-state model of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux; the tertiary two-state model of Henry et al., which is the simplest extension of the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model to include pre-equilibria of tertiary as well as quaternary conformations; the structure-based model of Szabo and Karplus; and the modification of the latter model by Lee and Karplus.

Self-reported memory problems in adult-onset cancer survivors: effects of cardiovascular disease and insomnia.

Background: Cancer and its treatments can deleteriously affect memory. Cardiac function and insomnia can exacerbate memory problems.

Objective: To examine the relationships among cardiovascular disease, insomnia, and self-reported memory problems (SRMP) in adult-onset cancer survivors.

Short-term effect of diode laser cyclophotocoagulation on intraocular pressure: a prospective study.

Background: This aims to determine the immediate and short-term risk of intraocular pressure spikes following diode laser cyclophotocoagulation.

Design: This study is a prospective, consecutive cohort study in a UK teaching hospital.

Participants: Fifty-three consecutive patients undergoing cyclophotocoagulation were invited to participate in this study.

Beyond glycolysis: GAPDHs are multi-functional enzymes involved in regulation of ROS, autophagy, and plant immune responses.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is an important enzyme in energy metabolism with diverse cellular regulatory roles in vertebrates, but few reports have investigated the importance of plant GAPDH isoforms outside of their role in glycolysis. While animals possess one GAPDH isoform, plants possess multiple isoforms. In this study, cell biological and genetic approaches were used to investigate the role of GAPDHs during plant immune responses.

Method optimization for fecal sample collection and fecal DNA extraction.

Background: This is the third in a series of publications presenting formal method validation for biospecimen processing in the context of accreditation in laboratories and biobanks. We report here optimization of a stool processing protocol validated for fitness-for-purpose in terms of downstream DNA-based analyses.

Methods: Stool collection was initially optimized in terms of sample input quantity and supernatant volume using canine stool.

End-tidal carbon monoxide as an indicator of the hemolytic rate.

In the first days of life, low grade jaundice is essentially universal. The source of the elevated bilirubin level giving rise to "physiological jaundice of the newborn" is only partly known. We hypothesized that it is, at least in part, the result of active and specific hemolysis involving a physiological mechanism to lower the high fetal hematocrit, appropriate for the relatively low oxygen environment in utero, to a lower level appropriate for the state of oxygen abundance after birth.

The heat shock protein 90 inhibitor, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, has anticancer activity in a novel human prostate cancer progression model.

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a major tea polyphenol, elicits anticancer effects. However, the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Our laboratory previously showed that EGCG inhibits heat shock protein 90 (HSP90).

Shortening a Patient Experiences Survey for Medical Homes.

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems-Patient-Centered Medical Home (CAHPS PCMH) Survey assesses patient experiences reflecting domains of care related to general patient experience (access to care, communication with providers, office staff interaction, provider rating) and PCMH-specific aspects of patient care (comprehensiveness of care, self-management support, shared decision making). The current work compares psychometric properties of the current survey and a proposed shortened version of the survey (from 52 to 26 adult survey items, from 66 to 31 child survey items). The revisions were based on initial psychometric analysis and stakeholder input regarding survey length concerns.

"Was it a mistake to tell others that you are infected with HIV?": factors associated with regret following HIV disclosure among people living with HIV in five countries (Mali, Morocco, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador and Romania). Results from a community-based research.

This study examined regret following HIV serostatus disclosure and associated factors in under-investigated contexts (Mali, Morocco, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador and Romania). A community-based cross-sectional study was implemented by a mixed consortium [researchers/community-based organizations (CBO)]. Trained CBO members interviewed 1,500 PLHIV in contact with CBOs using a 125-item questionnaire.

[Facilitating access to care for most-at-risk populations : the Bamako night sexual health clinic experience (Mali)].

The estimated prevalence of HIV in Mali is 1.3 % of the general population. The epidemic is concentrated in certain groups, particularly men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers (SW).

Block of ATP-binding cassette B19 ion channel activity by 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid impairs polar auxin transport and root gravitropism.

Polar transport of the hormone auxin through tissues and organs depends on membrane proteins, including some B-subgroup members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family. The messenger RNA level of at least one B-subgroup ABCB gene in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), ABCB19, increases upon treatment with the anion channel blocker 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid (NPPB), possibly to compensate for an inhibitory effect of the drug on ABCB19 activity. Consistent with this hypothesis, NPPB blocked ion channel activity associated with ABCB19 expressed in human embryonic kidney cells as measured by patch-clamp electrophysiology.

Regulation of NADPH-dependent Nitric Oxide and reactive oxygen species signalling in endothelial and melanoma cells by a photoactive NADPH analogue.

Nitric Oxide (NO) and Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are endogenous regulators of angiogenesis-related events as endothelial cell proliferation and survival, but NO/ROS defect or unbalance contribute to cancers. We recently designed a novel photoactive inhibitor of NO-Synthases (NOS) called NS1, which binds their NADPH site in vitro. Here, we show that NS1 inhibited NO formed in aortic rings.

Sociocultural factors perpetuating the practices of early marriage and childbirth in Sylhet District, Bangladesh.

Background: The practice of adolescent marriage continues in communities throughout Bangladesh, with adolescent childbearing a common result. This early childbearing is associated with increased medical risks for both mothers and their newborns.

Methods: Because of the need to understand the persistence of these behaviors in spite of the risks, various qualitative research methods were used to identify and better understand the various socio cultural factors perpetuating the practices of early marriage and childbirth.

Biochemical properties of the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus integrase.

Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-related Virus (XMRV) is a new gammaretrovirus generated by genetic recombination between two murine endogenous retroviruses, PreXMRV1 and PreXMRV2, during passaging of human prostate cancer xenografts in laboratory mice. XMRV is representative of an early founder virus that jumps species from mouse to human cell lines. Relatively little information is available concerning the XMRV integrase (IN), an enzyme that catalyzes a key stage in the retroviral cycle, and whose sequence is conserved among replication competent retroviruses emerging from recombination between the murine endogenous PreXMRV-1 and PreXMRV-2 genomes.