HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers in Miami: The Impact of Violent Victimization and Untreated Mental Illness

Street-based female sex workers constitute a vulnerable population for HIV, as they are often enmeshed in chronic patterns of substance use, sexual risk, homelessness, and violent victimization. This study examined the specific contributions of victimization history and abuse-related traumagenic factors to mental health functioning and sexual risk behaviors, while considering the impact of environmental risk factors as well. Using targeted sampling strategies, we enrolled 562 Miami-based female sex workers into an intervention trial testing the relative effectiveness of two alternative case management conditions in establishing linkages with health services and reducing risk for HIV. Lifetime prevalence of abuse was extremely elevated at 88%. Nearly half reported abuse before the age of 18, while 34% reported violent encounters with dates or clients in the past 90 days. Serious mental illness (SMI) was quite common, with 74% reporting severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, or traumatic stress. For those with histories of abuse, SMI appeared to mediate the association between abuse-related trauma and unprotected sex behaviors. Mental health treatment would appear to be an important component of effective HIV prevention among this vulnerable group, and should form part of a compendium of services offered to female sex workers

How do German YouTubers/Vloggers influence, through product placement, the buying behavior of beauty products of teenagers, aged 12-18 years, in the German part of Switzerland?

The internet has evolved in a drastic and rapid way over the approximately past 55 years. Nowadays, with all these social media platforms and online tools, teenagers are spending more and more time on their computers or other devices, and are constantly connected with their friends in a virtual world created by these social media. It is estimated that up to 9 hours a day are spent on social media platforms. In addition to this, the way of doing advertising has changed, if in the past the audience was mainly confronted with product placement through television and commercials, now the audience is confronted with product placement simply everywhere. Especially, platforms such as YouTube or Instagram are used to bring products closer to possible customers through YouTubers and Vloggers. Usually, the audience of these YouTubers are teenagers between 12-18 years of age. They get easily influenced and see YouTubers as their idols and have the constant need to be part of that YouTuber’s community. The aim of this research is to define how German YouTubers/Vloggers influence, through product placement, the buying behavior of beauty products of teenagers, aged 12-18 years, in the German part of Switzerland. For this research, the focus is on the two most famous YouTubers in Germany, BibisBeautyPalace and Dagi Bee. These YouTubers are used to have a reference point in this research, to illustrate how they are influencing their followers and which strategies they use. The aim of this project is to develop a better understanding on how they manipulate the mind of their young audience, what is convincing these young teenagers to spend their money on something they have discovered through these YouTubers, and to learn what kind of relationship they share. To do this research, existing data concerning these Youtubers and Vloggers is used to have more information about them and to define the community they have created. To do the principal research and to reach the objectives, an online survey will be done in schools in the German part of Switzerland as well as a collection of data in Zurich through personal interviews. The analysis confirms that there is an influence on teenagers aged 12-18 years. However, there is a visible trend emerging, that shows that the age range from 12-16 years gets more influenced than the age ranges from 16-18 years. Young aged teenagers do not immediately understand that YouTubers are using different practices and strategies to influence them. The possibilities in which YouTubers exercise product placement are many and are illustrated in the report. Teenagers have the impression to be fundamental to YouTubers, as they are asking for their advice, for their feedbacks and for new video ideas. Furthermore, as they are giving so many insights in their private life, there is no reason for young teenagers why they should not trust them and believe their words. Especially, when considering that these teenagers have the impression to know everything about these YouTubers, and the YouTubers do not know them. This is giving a certain feeling of power; these followers think that they are influencing the YouTubers, while it is the other way around

Benzodiazepine Dependence Among Multidrug Users in the Club Scene

Background: Benzodiazepines (BZs) are among the most frequently prescribed drugs with the potential for abuse. Young adults ages 18–29 report the highest rates of BZ misuse in the United States. The majority of club drug users are also in this age group, and BZ misuse is prevalent in the nightclub scene. BZ dependence, however, is not well documented. This paper examines BZ dependence and its correlates among multidrug users in South Florida\u27s nightclub scene. Methods: Data were drawn from structured interviews with men and women (N = 521) who reported regular attendance at large dance clubs and recent use of both club drugs and BZs. Results: Prevalences of BZ-related problems were 7.9% for BZ dependence, 22.6% BZ abuse, and 25% BZ abuse and/or dependence. In bivariate logistic regression models, heavy cocaine use (OR 2.27; 95% CI 1.18, 4.38), severe mental distress (OR 2.63; 95% CI 1.33, 5.21), and childhood victimization history (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.10, 5.38) were associated with BZ dependence. Heavy cocaine use (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.10, 4.18) and severe mental distress (OR 2.16; 95% CI 1.07, 4.37) survived as predictors in the multivariate model. Discussion: BZ misuse is widespread among multidrug users in the club scene, who also exhibit high levels of other health and social problems. BZ dependence appears to be more prevalent in this sample than in other populations described in the literature. Recommendations for intervention and additional research are described

Multiclinic Observations on the Simplified Diet in PKU

Phenylketonuria is an inborn error of metabolism that historically has been treated with a strict phenylalanine-restricted diet where all foods are weighed and measured. This is cumbersome and difficult for patients and caregivers, especially patients with high phenylalanine blood concentrations who often have neurocognitive deficits. The Simplified Diet is an alternative approach that allows for increased flexibility, promotes healthy food choices, and is easier to manage than a traditional diet for PKU. This paper describes the implementation of the Simplified Diet and outlines education, counseling strategies, and challenges encountered by three metabolic clinics in the United States

Red wine polyphenols prevent metabolic and cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity in Zucker fatty rats (Fa/Fa)

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comprehensive annotation of the Parastagonospora nodorum reference genome using next-generation genomics, transcriptomics and proteogenomics

Parastagonospora nodorum, the causal agent of Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), is an economically important pathogen of wheat (Triticum spp.), and a model for the study of necrotrophic pathology and genome evolution. The reference P. nodorum strain SN15 was the first Dothideomycete with a published genome sequence, and has been used as the basis for comparison within and between species. Here we present an updated reference genome assembly with corrections of SNP and indel errors in the underlying genome assembly from deep resequencing data as well as extensive manual annotation of gene models using transcriptomic and proteomic sources of evidence (https://github.com/robsyme/Parastagonospora_nodorum_SN15). The updated assembly and annotation includes 8,366 genes with modified protein sequence and 866 new genes. This study shows the benefits of using a wide variety of experimental methods allied to expert curation to generate a reliable set of gene models

Genome sequencing and comparative genomics of the broad host-range pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG8

Rhizoctonia solani is a soil-borne basidiomycete fungus with a necrotrophic lifestyle which is classified into fourteen reproductively incompatible anastomosis groups (AGs). One of these, AG8, is a devastating pathogen causing bare patch of cereals, brassicas and legumes. R. solani is a multinucleate heterokaryon containing significant heterozygosity within a single cell. This complexity posed significant challenges for the assembly of its genome. We present a high quality genome assembly of R. solani AG8 and a manually curated set of 13,964 genes supported by RNA-seq. The AG8 genome assembly used novel methods to produce a haploid representation of its heterokaryotic state. The whole-genomes of AG8, the rice pathogen AG1-IA and the potato pathogen AG3 were observed to be syntenic and co-linear. Genes and functions putatively relevant to pathogenicity were highlighted by comparing AG8 to known pathogenicity genes, orthology databases spanning 197 phytopathogenic taxa and AG1-IA.We also observed SNP-level “hypermutation” of CpG dinucleotides to TpG between AG8 nuclei, with similarities to repeat-induced point mutation (RIP). Interestingly, gene-coding regions were widely affected along with repetitive DNA, which has not been previously observed for RIP in mononuclear fungi of the Pezizomycotina. The rate of heterozygous SNP mutations within this single isolate of AG8 was observed to be higher than SNP mutation rates observed across populations of most fungal species compared. Comparative analyses were combined to predict biological processes relevant to AG8 and 308 proteins with effector-like characteristics, forming a valuable resource for further study of this pathosystem. Predicted effector-like proteins had elevated levels of non-synonymous point mutations relative to synonymous mutations (dN/dS), suggesting that they may be under diversifying selection pressures. In addition, the distant relationship to sequenced necrotrophs of the Ascomycota suggests the R. solani genome sequence may prove to be a useful resource in future comparative analysis of plant pathogens

The evidence base for circulating tumour DNA blood-based biomarkers for the early detection of cancer: a systematic mapping review

Background: The presence of circulating cell-free DNA from tumours in blood (ctDNA) is of major importance to those interested in early cancer detection, as well as to those wishing to monitor tumour progression or diagnose the presence of activating mutations to guide treatment. In 2014, the UK Early Cancer Detection Consortium undertook a systematic mapping review of the literature to identify blood-based biomarkers with potential for the development of a non-invasive blood test for cancer screening, and which identified this as a major area of interest. This review builds on the mapping review to expand the ctDNA dataset to examine the best options for the detection of multiple cancer types. Methods: The original mapping review was based on comprehensive searches of the electronic databases Medline, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane library, and Biosis to obtain relevant literature on blood-based biomarkers for cancer detection in humans (PROSPERO no. CRD42014010827). The abstracts for each paper were reviewed to determine whether validation data were reported, and then examined in full. Publications concentrating on monitoring of disease burden or mutations were excluded. Results: The search identified 94 ctDNA studies meeting the criteria for review. All but 5 studies examined one cancer type, with breast, colorectal and lung cancers representing 60% of studies. The size and design of the studies varied widely. Controls were included in 77% of publications. The largest study included 640 patients, but the median study size was 65 cases and 35 controls, and the bulk of studies (71%) included less than 100 patients. Studies either estimated cfDNA levels non-specifically or tested for cancer-specific mutations or methylation changes (the majority using PCR-based methods). Conclusion: We have systematically reviewed ctDNA blood biomarkers for the early detection of cancer. Pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical considerations were identified which need to be addressed before such biomarkers enter clinical practice. The value of small studies with no comparison between methods, or even the inclusion of controls is highly questionable, and larger validation studies will be required before such methods can be considered for early cancer detection