Building addiction recovery capital through online participation in a recovery community

The study examines how online participation in a recovery community contributes to personal journeys to addiction recovery. We investigate whether recovery capital building - as indicated by increased levels and quality of online social interactions - and markers of positive identity development predict retention in a recovery program designed around fostering community involvement for early stage recovery addicts. We predicted that high levels and quality of online participation on the group's Facebook page and positive identity development predict retention in the program. To map how participants interact online we conducted social network analysis (SNA) based on naturally occurring online data on the Facebook page of a recovery community. We used computerised linguistic analysis to conduct a sentiment analysis of the textual data (capturing social identity markers). We used linear regression analysis to test whether our indicators of recovery capital predict program retention. To illustrate our findings in the context of the recovery community, we also present case studies of two key participants who moved from the periphery to the centre of the social network. By conducting in-depth interviews with these participants we were able to explore personal experiences of social media usage in the context of their recovery journeys for group members who have undergone some of the most significant changes since joining the community. We found that retention in the program was determined by a) the number of comment 'likes' and 'all likes' received on the Facebook page; b) position in the social network (degree of centrality); and c) linguistic content around group identity and achievement. In conclusion, positive online interactions between members of recovery communities support the recovery process through helping participants to develop recovery capital that binds them to groups supportive of positive change

Fish Behavior on Fisheries Boat Lift Net (Bagan Petepete) by Using Led Lights

Research on fish behavior in boat lift net fisheries (bagan petepete) equipped with LED light is very important since the similar research is very limited conducted in Indonesian waters. The purpose of this study was to understand the LED light distribution and its impact on the fish behavior around the LED light. This study was conducted in the laboratory of Simulation Workshop and Navigation, Pangkep State Polytechnique of Agricultural and fishing experiment was done in Barru District waters, Makassar Strait, South Sulawesi. The light intensity was measured by a digital lux meter and under water lux meter, while fish behavior was observed by side scan sonar color. Light intensity analyses showed that the distribution of 80 watts LED light was mostly focused with 1096 lux with an angle168°. Fishes approached the light at 5-10 m and 20-30 m water depth from all directions after all lights were turned on. Fishes in smaller groups and higher density concentrated around the light when only one lamp was turned on. After catch processing, some fishes left the lighting area and others still stayed in the lighting area

A Qualitative Study of Perceived Risk for HIV Transmission among Police Officers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Understanding people's views about HIV transmission by investigating a specific population may help to design effective HIV prevention strategies. In addition, knowing the inherent sexual practices of such a population, as well as the risky circumstances that may facilitate HIV transmission, is crucial for the said strategies to become effective. In this article, we report how police officers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, perceived the problem of HIV and AIDS in their local context, particularly in relation to unsafe sexual practices. The study was done with the view to recommending ways by which HIV transmission could be minimised within the police force. The study was conducted among members of the police force in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted, with a total of 66 participants who were mixed in terms of age, gender, and marital status. Some of these were caregivers to patients with AIDS. Data were analysed using the interpretive description approach. The participants believed that both individual sexual behaviour and work-related circumstances were sources of HIV infection. They also admitted that they were being tempted to engage in risky sexual practices because of the institutional rules that prohibit officers from getting married during their training and for three years after. Nevertheless, as members of the Police Force, they stressed the fact that the risky sexual behaviour that exposes them to HIV is not limited to the force; it is rather a common problem that is faced by the general population. However, they complained, the nature of their job exposes them to road accident victims, subjecting them further to possible infection, especially when they have to handle these road accident casualties without proper protective gear. Individual sexual behaviour and job-related circumstances are worth investigating if proper advice is to be given to the police regarding HIV prevention strategies. In order to improve the lives of these police officers, there is a need to review the existing institutional rules and practices to accommodate individual sexual needs. In addition, improving their working environment may minimize the risk of HIV transmission from handling casualties in emergency situations

Breast MRI and tumour biology predict axillary lymph node response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer

Background: In patients who have had axillary nodal metastasis diagnosed prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, there is little consensus on how to manage the axilla subsequently. The aim of this study was to explore whether a combination of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessed response and primary tumour pathology factors could identify a subset of patients that might be spared axillary node clearance.Methods: A retrospective data analysis was performed of patients with core biopsy-proven axillary nodal metastasis prior to commencement of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) who had subsequent axillary node clearance (ANC) at definitive breast surgery. Breast tumour and axillary response at MRI before, during and on completion of NAC, core biopsy tumour grade, tumour type and immunophenotype were correlated with pathological response in the breast and the number of metastatic nodes in the ANC specimens.Results: Of 87 consecutive patients with MRI at baseline, interim and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy who underwent ANC at time of breast surgery, 33 (38%) had no residual macrometastatic axillary disease, 28 (32%) had 1–2 metastatic nodes and 26 (30%) had more than 2 metastatic nodes. Factors that predicted axillary nodal complete response were MRI complete response in the breast (p < 0.0001), HER2 positivity (p = 0.02) and non-lobular tumour type (p = 0.015).Conclusion: MRI assessment of breast tumour response to NAC and core biopsy factors are predictive of response in axillary nodes, and can be used to guide decision making regarding appropriate axillary surgery

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors isolated from Artemisia roxburghiana

Artemisia roxburghiana is used in traditional medicine for treating various diseases including diabetes. The present study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic potential of active constituents by using protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as a validated target for management of diabetes. Various compounds were isolated as active principles from the crude methanolic extract of aerial parts of A. roxburghiana. All compounds were screened for PTP1B inhibitory activity. Molecular docking simulations were performed to investigate the mechanism behind PTP1B inhibition of the isolated compound and positive control, ursolic acid. Betulinic acid, betulin and taraxeryl acetate were the active PTP1B principles with IC50 values 3.49 ± 0.02, 4.17 ± 0.03 and 87.52 ± 0.03 µM, respectively. Molecular docking studies showed significant molecular interactions of the triterpene inhibitors with Gly220, Cys215, Gly218 and Asp48 inside the active site of PTP1B. The antidiabetic activity of A. roxburghiana could be attributed due to PTP1B inhibition by its triterpene constituents, betulin, betulinic acid and taraxeryl acetate. Computational insights of this study revealed that the C-3 and C-17 positions of the compounds needs extensive optimization for the development of new lead compounds

Liver Enzyme Abnormalities and Associated Risk Factors in HIV Patients on Efavirenz-Based HAART with or without Tuberculosis Co-Infection in Tanzania.

To investigate the timing, incidence, clinical presentation, pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetic predictors for antiretroviral and anti-tuberculosis drug induced liver injury (DILI) in HIV patients with or without TB co-infection. A total of 473 treatment naïve HIV patients (253 HIV only and 220 with HIV-TB co-infection) were enrolled prospectively. Plasma efavirenz concentration and CYP2B6*6, CYP3A5*3, *6 and *7, ABCB1 3435C/T and SLCO1B1 genotypes were determined. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected at baseline and up to 48 weeks of antiretroviral therapy. DILI case definition was according to Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS). Incidence of DILI and identification of predictors was evaluated using Cox Proportional Hazards Model. The overall incidence of DILI was 7.8% (8.3 per 1000 person-week), being non-significantly higher among patients receiving concomitant anti-TB and HAART (10.0%, 10.7 per 1000 person-week) than those receiving HAART alone (5.9%, 6.3 per 1000 person-week). Frequency of CYP2B6*6 allele (p = 0.03) and CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype (p = 0.06) was significantly higher in patients with DILI than those without. Multivariate cox regression model indicated that CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype and anti-HCV IgG antibody positive as significant predictors of DILI. Median time to DILI was 2 weeks after HAART initiation and no DILI onset was observed after 12 weeks. No severe DILI was seen and the gain in CD4 was similar in patients with or without DILI. Antiretroviral and anti-tuberculosis DILI does occur in our setting, presenting early following HAART initiation. DILI seen is mild, transient and may not require treatment interruption. There is good tolerance to HAART and anti-TB with similar immunological outcomes. Genetic make-up mainly CYP2B6 genotype influences the development of efavirenz based HAART liver injury in Tanzanians

Photo collage-based photograph display system on mobile computing platform

In the last few decades, mobile computing platform technology has grown rapidly, as observed from smart phones that have quickly become ubiquitous. The mobile computing platform is the most widely used platform in our life today, and digital photographs captured through these devices have become routine for most people. In this study, we propose a novel artistic method for displaying photographs in mobile devices as a photo collage. Using our system, users can view a representative photograph as a collage of photographs associated with a certain event and access each of photographs individually. To implement this, we employ centroidal Voronoi diagram to obtain an even distribution of tiles, and use the sites as the location of tiles. We use the edge avoidance technique to prevent tiles from being located across the edges. To obtain the direction of tiles that follow near a strong edge, we employ the Edge tangent Flow field and use the field as the directions of tiles. Finally, we search for photographs that best match the tiles calculated above by using a thumbnail difference metric

Histone deacetylases as new therapy targets for platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer

Introduction: In developed countries, ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Due to the nonspecific symptomatology associated with the disease many patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed late, which leads to significantly poorer prognosis. Apart from surgery and radiotherapy, a substantial number of ovarian cancer patients will undergo chemotherapy and platinum based agents are the mainstream first-line therapy for this disease. Despite the initial efficacy of these therapies, many women relapse; therefore, strategies for second-line therapies are required. Regulation of DNA transcription is crucial for tumour progression, metastasis and chemoresistance which offers potential for novel drug targets. Methods: We have reviewed the existing literature on the role of histone deacetylases, nuclear enzymes regulating gene transcription. Results and conclusion: Analysis of available data suggests that a signifant proportion of drug resistance stems from abberant gene expression, therefore HDAC inhibitors are amongst the most promising therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Together with genetic testing, they may have a potential to serve as base for patient-adapted therapies

Genetic determinants of co-accessible chromatin regions in activated T cells across humans.

Over 90% of genetic variants associated with complex human traits map to non-coding regions, but little is understood about how they modulate gene regulation in health and disease. One possible mechanism is that genetic variants affect the activity of one or more cis-regulatory elements leading to gene expression variation in specific cell types. To identify such cases, we analyzed ATAC-seq and RNA-seq profiles from stimulated primary CD4+ T cells in up to 105 healthy donors. We found that regions of accessible chromatin (ATAC-peaks) are co-accessible at kilobase and megabase resolution, consistent with the three-dimensional chromatin organization measured by in situ Hi-C in T cells. Fifteen percent of genetic variants located within ATAC-peaks affected the accessibility of the corresponding peak (local-ATAC-QTLs). Local-ATAC-QTLs have the largest effects on co-accessible peaks, are associated with gene expression and are enriched for autoimmune disease variants. Our results provide insights into how natural genetic variants modulate cis-regulatory elements, in isolation or in concert, to influence gene expression