Sexual vulnerability and HIV seroprevalence among the deaf and hearing impaired in Cameroon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This quantitative cross-sectional study examines sexual behaviour of a target group of hearing-impaired persons in Yaounde, the capital city of the Republic of Cameroon. It measures their HIV prevalence to enable assessment of their sexual vulnerability and to help reduce the gap in existing HIV serology data among people with disabilities in general and the deaf in particular.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The snowball sampling procedure was adopted as an adequate approach to meet this hard-to-reach group. A total of 118 deaf participants were interviewed for the behavioural component, using sign language as a means of data collection, while 101 participants underwent HIV serology testing. Descriptive analyses were done for behavioural data with Epi info software, while sera were tested by health personnel, using rapid and confirmation test reagents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From the results, it was clear that the hearing impaired were highly involved in risky sexual practices, as observed through major sexual indicators, such as: age at first sexual intercourse; condom use; and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and AIDS. Furthermore, it was noted that the HIV prevalence rate of the hearing impaired in the capital of Cameroon was 4%, close to the prevalence in the city's general population (4.7%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Such results suggest that there is a need for in-depth behavioural research and serological studies in this domain to better understand the determinants of risky sexual behaviour among the hearing impaired, and to propose operational prevention approaches for this group.</p

Expression of phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 in mesothelioma patients - correlation with clinico-pathological characteristics and outcome: results from the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP) Mesoscape project

Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis. Although histology and pathologic stage are important prognostic factors, better prognostic biomarkers are needed. The ribosomal protein S6 is a downstream target of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway involved in protein synthesis and cell proliferation. In previous studies, low phosphorylated S6 (pS6) immunoreactivity was significantly correlated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in PM patients. We aimed to correlate pS6 expression to clinical data in a large multi-centre PM cohort as part of the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP) Mesoscape project. Tissue Micro Arrays (TMAs) of PM were constructed and expression of pS6 was evaluated by a semiquantitatively aggregate H-score. Expression results were correlated to patient characteristics as well as OS/PFS. pS6 IHC results of 364 patients from 9 centres, diagnosed between 1999 and 2017 were available. The primary histology of included tumours was epithelioid (70.3%), followed by biphasic (24.2%) and sarcomatoid (5.5%). TMAs included both treatment-naive and tumour tissue taken after induction chemotherapy. High pS6 expression (181 patients with H-score>1.41) was significantly associated with less complete resection. In the overall cohort, OS/PFS were not significantly different between pS6-low and pS6-high patients. In a subgroup analysis nonepithelioid (biphasic and sarcomatoid) patients with high pS6 expression showed a significantly shorter OS (p< 0.001, 10.7 versus 16.9 months) and PFS (p < 0.001, 6.2 versus 10.8 months). In subgroup analysis, in non-epithelioid PM patients high pS6 expression was associated with significantly shorter OS and PFS. These exploratory findings suggest a clinically relevant PI3K pathway activation in non-epithelioid PM which might lay the foundation for future targeted treatment strategies

A Short Receptor Downregulates JAK/STAT Signalling to Control the Drosophila Cellular Immune Response

Regulation of JAK/STAT signalling by a short, nonsignalling receptor in Drosophila modulates response to specific immune challenges such as parasitoid infestations

Revisiting and modelling the woodland farming system of the early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), 5600–4900 B.C

International audienceThis article presents the conception and the conceptual results of a modelling representation of the farming systems of the Linearbandkeramik Culture (LBK). Assuming that there were permanent fields (PF) then, we suggest four ways that support the sustainability of such a farming system over time: a generalized pollarding and coppicing of trees to increase the productivity of woodland areas for foddering more livestock, which itself can then provide more manure for the fields, a generalized use of pulses grown together with cereals during the same cropping season, thereby reducing the needs for manure. Along with assumptions limiting bias on village and family organizations, the conceptual model which we propose for human environment in the LBK aims to be sustainable for long periods and can thereby overcome doubts about the PFs hypothesis for the LBK farming system. Thanks to a reconstruction of the climate of western Europe and the consequent vegetation pattern and productivity arising from it, we propose a protocol of experiments and validation procedures for both testing the PFs hypothesis and defining its eco-geographical area

Revealing asymmetrical dust distribution in the inner regions of HD 141569

Context. The combination of high-contrast imaging with spectroscopy and polarimetry offers a pathway to studying the grain distribution and properties of debris disks in exquisite detail. Here, we focus on the case of a gas-rich debris disk around HD 141569A, which features a multiple-ring morphology first identified with SPHERE in the near-infrared. Aims. We obtained polarimetric differential imaging with SPHERE in the H-band to compare the scattering properties of the innermost ring at 44 au with former observations in total intensity with the same instrument. In polarimetric imaging, we observed that the intensity of the ring peaks in the south-east, mostly in the forward direction, whereas in total intensity imaging, the ring is detected only at the south. This noticeable characteristic suggests a non-uniform dust density in the ring. With these two sets of images, we aim to study the distribution of the dust to solve for the actual dust distribution. Methods. We implemented a density function varying azimuthally along the ring and generated synthetic images both in polarimetry and in total intensity, which are then compared to the actual data. The search for the best-fit model was performed both with a grid-based and an MCMC approach. Using the outcome of this modelization, we further measured the polarized scattering phase function for the observed scattering angle between 33° and 147° as well as the spectral reflectance of the southern part of the ring between 0.98 and 2.1 μm. We tentatively derived the grain properties by comparing these quantities with MCFOST models and assuming Mie scattering. Results. We find that the dust density peaks in the south-west at an azimuthal angle of 220°∼238° with a rather broad width of 61°∼127°. The difference in the intensity distributions observed in polarimetry and total intensity is the result of this particular morphology. Although there are still uncertainties that remain in the determination of the anisotropic scattering factor, the implementation of an azimuthal density variation to fit the data proved to be robust. Upon elaborating on the origin of this dust density distribution, we conclude that it could be the result of a massive collision when we account for the effect of the high gas mass that is present in the system on the dynamics of grains. In terms of grain composition, our preliminary interpretation indicates a mixture of porous sub-micron sized astro-silicate and carbonaceous grains. Conclusions. The SPHERE observations have allowed, for the first time, for meaningful constraints to be placed on the dust distribution beyond the standard picture of a uniform ring-like debris disk. However, future studies with a multiwavelength approach and additional detailed modeling would be required to better characterize the grain properties in the HD 141569 system. © G. Singh et al. 2021

Safety Concern between Autologous Fat Graft, Mesenchymal Stem Cell and Osteosarcoma Recurrence

Background: Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant primary bone tumour in young adult treated by neo adjuvant chemotherapy, surgical tumor removal and adjuvant multidrug chemotherapy. For correction of soft tissue defect consecutive to surgery and/or tumor treatment, autologous fat graft has been proposed in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Principal Findings: We report here a case of a late local recurrence of osteosarcoma which occurred 13 years after the initial pathology and 18 months after a lipofilling procedure. Because such recurrence was highly unexpected, we investigated the possible relationship of tumor growth with fat injections and with mesenchymal stem/stromal cell like cells which are largely found in fatty tissue. Results obtained in osteosarcoma pre-clinical models show that fat grafts or progenitor cells promoted tumor growth. Significance: These observations and results raise the question of whether autologous fat grafting is a safe reconstructive procedure in a known post neoplasic context

International conference ICAWA 2017 and 2018 : extended book of abstract : the AWA project : ecosystem approach to the management of fisheries and the marine environment in West African waters

The Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) extends from Bissagos Island (Guinea Bissau) in the north (11°N, 16°W) to Cape Lopez (Gabon) in the south (0°S, 8°E) and includes the study zone, from 4°N, 8°W to 6°N, 3°E. Acoustic data were recorded with a 38 kHz echosounder, from 10 to 500 m depth over 7 surveys, 6 were selected here, totalling 16 618 nmi from 1999 to 2006. To get homogenous data, (i) only off-upwelling season surveys (April to September) were studied and (ii) only continental shelf data were considered (10-150 m). The mean volume backscattering strength (Sv in dB) was used as a micronektonic biomass proxy to assess its spatial inter-annual variability. Diel transition periods were removed from analyses to avoid micronektonic density changes bias due to diel vertical migrations. Data were echointegrated at a spatial resolution of 0,1 nmi*1 m depth using Matecho tool (Perrot et al., 2018). (i) On horizontal dimension, the variability in annual micronektonic densities was assessed using the mean Sv value for each 0,1 nmi Elementary Sample Unit (ESU). (ii) On vertical dimension, the water column variation (%) filled by micronektonic acoustic layer (filling rate) across years was estimated using a linear regression and the change of micronektonic spatial structure between day and night was assessed using the mean Sv value for each 1 m depth step. GCLME have a narrow continental shelf vs. other African Atlantic LMEs. No significant change of micronektonic biomass proxy has been observed from 1999 to 2006 in this study (Fig. 1). As expected, a difference is observed in the vertical micronektonic acoustic density between day and night (Fig. 3). However, there is a paradoxical process, indeed there is an increase in Sv during nighttime. Two hypotheses are proposed: (i) the increase in density could be explained by an offshore horizontal diel migration or (ii) a very high contribution of the micronektonic density occurring in surface (0-10 m) is suspected, which corresponds to the blind zone of the research vessel. According to the new descriptor &#8220;water column filling rate&#8221;, a significant change in the system is reported. Indeed there is an increase in five years. Future investigations should focus on this interesting phenomenon, which could be link to an effect of global change. We have to take care that such increase could also inform on a major change in the trophic web in this part of the GCLME. These findings can be interpreted as an early warning signal and encourage for future study