Interpreting in Sexual and Reproductive Health Consults With Burma Born Refugees Post Settlement: Insights From an Australian Qualitative Study

Interpreters work with health care professionals to overcome language challenges during sexual and reproductive (SRH) health discussions with people from refugee backgrounds. Disclosures of traumatic refugee journeys and sexual assault combined with refugees’ unfamiliarity with Western health concepts and service provision can increase the interpreting challenges. Published literature provides general guidance on working with interpreters in primary care but few studies focus on interpretation in refugee SRH consults. To address this, we explored the challenges faced by providers of refugee services (PRS) during interpreter mediated SRH consultations with Burma born refugees post settlement in Australia. We used qualitative methodology and interviewed 29 PRS involved with migrants from Burma including general practitioners, nurses, interpreters, bilingual social workers, and administrative staff. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis following independent coding by the members of the research team. Key themes were formulated after a consensus discussion. The theme of “interpretation related issues” was identified with six sub-themes including 1) privacy and confidentiality 2) influence of interpreter’s identity 3) gender matching of the interpreter 4) family member vs. professional interpreters 5) telephone vs. face-to-face interpreting 6) setting up the consultation room. When faced with these interpretation related challenges in providing SRH services to people from refugee backgrounds, health care providers combine best practice advice, experience-based knowledge and “mundane creativity” to adapt to the needs of the specific patients. The complexity of interpreted SRH consultations in refugee settings needs to be appreciated in making good judgments when choosing the best way to optimize communication. This paper identifies the critical elements which could be incorporated when making such a judgement. Future research should include the experiences of refugee patients to provide a more comprehensive perspective

Rice Phospholipase A Superfamily: Organization, Phylogenetic and Expression Analysis during Abiotic Stresses and Development

Background: Phospholipase A (PLA) is an important group of enzymes responsible for phospholipid hydrolysis in lipid signaling. PLAs have been implicated in abiotic stress signaling and developmental events in various plants species. Genome-wide analysis of PLA superfamily has been carried out in dicot plant Arabidopsis. A comprehensive genome-wide analysis of PLAs has not been presented yet in crop plant rice. Methodology/Principal Findings: A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis identified a total of 31 PLA encoding genes in the rice genome, which are divided into three classes; phospholipase A 1 (PLA 1), patatin like phospholipases (pPLA) and low molecular weight secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) based on their sequences and phylogeny. A subset of 10 rice PLAs exhibited chromosomal duplication, emphasizing the role of duplication in the expansion of this gene family in rice. Microarray expression profiling revealed a number of PLA members expressing differentially and significantly under abiotic stresses and reproductive development. Comparative expression analysis with Arabidopsis PLAs revealed a high degree of functional conservation between the orthologs in two plant species, which also indicated the vital role of PLAs in stress signaling and plant development across different plant species. Moreover, sub-cellular localization of a few candidates suggests their differential localization and functional role in the lipid signaling. Conclusion/Significance: The comprehensive analysis and expression profiling would provide a critical platform for th

Synovial fluid mononuclear cell gene expression profiling suggests dysregulation of innate immune genes in enthesitis-related arthritis patients

Objective. Microarray studies have provided insight into the pathogenesis of systemic JIA and have opened new avenues for therapy. Data on the pathogenesis of the enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) category of JIA are limited, thus we studied the expression profile of ERA patients' peripheral blood and SF mononuclear cells (PBMCs and SFMCs, respectively). PBMCs from healthy subjects were used as controls. Methods. RNA from PBMCs of ERA patients (n = 17) and healthy controls (n = 8) and seven ERA SFMCs were converted to labelled cRNA and hybridized to Illumina Human WG-6_v3_BeadChip chips. Expression profiles were analysed using GeneSpring software. Selected genes of interest were validated by real-time PCR. Results. There was no significant difference in PBMC gene expression of ERA and control groups. However, there was a significant difference between expression profiles of SFMCs and PBMCs of patients with ERA, with 131 genes being overexpressed and 216 being underexpressed in SFMCs. Among genes involved with immune function, cluster of differentiation (CD)1b, CD1d, MHC class II alpha and beta chain, and soluble CD163 were overexpressed, whereas genes related to NK cell function, namely, Granzyme H, killer cell lectin-like receptor subfamily F member 1, killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor, three domains, long cytoplasmic tail (KIR3DL3), natural killer group 7 (NKG7) and other genes like CD244, CD248 and Fas apoptotic inhibitory molecule 3 (FAIM3) were underexpressed. Conclusion. ERA SFMCs had a distinct gene expression profile from PBMCs and had higher expression of genes associated with antigen presentation, scavenger function, chemotaxis and proteases, whereas genes involved in NK cell function, cell adhesion and inhibitors of apoptosis were underexpressed

Isolation of high salinity stress tolerant genes from Pisum sativum by random overexpression in Escherichia coli and their functional validation

Salinity stress is one of the major factors which reduce crop plants growth and productivity resulting in significant economic losses worldwide. Therefore, it would be fruitful to isolate and functionally identify new salinity stress-induced genes for understanding the mechanism and developing salinity stress tolerant plants. Based on functional gene screening assay, we have isolated few salinity tolerant genes out of one million Escherichia coli (SOLR) transformants containing pea cDNAs. Sequence analysis of three of these genes revealed homology to Ribosomal-L30E (RPL30E), Chlorophyll-a/b-binding protein (Chla/bBP) and FIDDLEHEAD (FDH). The salinity tolerance of these genes in bacteria was further confirmed by using another strain of E. coli (DH5α) transformants. The homology based computational modeling of these proteins suggested the high degree of conservation with the conserved domains of their homologous partners. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression of these cDNAs (except the FDH) was upregulated in pea plants in response to NaCl stress. We observed that there was no significant effect of Li+ ion on the expression level of these genes, while an increase in response to K+ ion was observed. Overall, this study provides an evidence for a novel function of these genes in high salinity stress tolerance. The PsFDH showed constitutive expression in planta suggesting that it can be used as constitutively expressed marker gene for salinity stress tolerance in plants. This study brings new direction in identifying novel function of unidentified genes in abiotic stress tolerance without previous knowledge of the genome sequence

Developing a Sexual Health Consent Strategy for Refugees: A Qualitative Approach

We report the development of a strategy for obtaining a truly voluntary and informed consent for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research with Burma-born refugees settled in Australia. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, we interviewed 29 providers of refugee services (PRS) including health care professionals (doctors, nurses, midwives), bilingual supporting staff (interpreters, social workers, settlement workers, community liaison officers) and administrative staff (practice managers, reception staff) who provide primary care services to refugees. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: (a) unique values of Burma-born people, (b) unfamiliarity with Western concepts of research, (c) usefulness of individual consent discussions with potential participants, and (d) need for verification of voluntary participation prior to research interview. Results were used to develop a three-stage process of research consent. The first stage comprises of community information sessions to introduce concepts of research including explanations of voluntary participation and informed consent. Secondly, consent discussions for interested participants are undertaken with their preferred interpreter. Finally, voluntary participation is confirmed just prior to the interview. This three-stage process of research consent will serve as a useful tool for PRS to support cross cultural SRH research interactions involving interpreters and participants

Qualitative and quantitative dermatoglyphic traits in patients with breast cancer: a prospective clinical study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is one of the most extensively studied cancers and its genetic basis is well established. Dermatoglyphic traits are formed under genetic control early in development but may be affected by environmental factors during first trimester of pregnancy. They however do not change significantly thereafter, thus maintaining stability not greatly affected by age. These patterns may represent the genetic make up of an individual and therefore his/her predisposition to certain diseases. Patterns of dermatoglyphics have been studied in various congenital disorders like Down's syndrome and Kleinfelter syndrome. The prints can thus represent a non-invasive anatomical marker of breast cancer risk and thus facilitate early detection and treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted on 60 histo-pathologically confirmed breast cancer patients and their digital dermatoglyphic patterns were studied to assess their association with the type and onset of breast cancer. Simultaneously 60 age-matched controls were also selected that had no self or familial history of a diagnosed breast cancer and the observations were recorded. The differences of qualitative (dermatoglyphic patterns) data were tested for their significance using the chi-square test, and for quantitative (ridge counts and pattern intensity index) data using the t- test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>It was observed that six or more whorls in the finger print pattern were statistically significant among the cancer patients as compared to controls. It was also seen that whorls in the right ring finger and right little finger were found increased among the cases as compared to controls. The differences between <b>mean pattern intensity index </b>of cases and controls were found to be statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The dermatoglyphic patterns may be utilized effectively to study the genetic basis of breast cancer and may also serve as a screening tool in the high-risk population. In a developing country like India it might prove to be an anatomical, non-invasive, inexpensive and effective tool for screening and studying the patterns in the high-risk population.</p