Sport Fans and Online Data Collection: Challenges and Ethics

The growth of online communities and social networking has provided opportunities to investigate sport fans from a wide range of perspectives. Motivations to consume online media and engage in interactive web functions are areas providing new and innovative research opportunities. There are several ethical considerations when conducting research in an online environment. This article discusses four major ethical values of honesty, responsibility, justice, and beneficence and how each relates to online data collection. Specifically, these four values will guide the discussion focused on issues of intrusion, interaction, and invitation in online communication contexts. Researchers and administrators must consider fans and other stakeholders’ core moral and ethical values in the data collection process

Ranchers Feeding Kids: A Multi-Partner Approach to Programming

School districts face challenges to balance budgets and provide healthy meals. Oregon State University Extension agents joined with community partners to form Ranchers Feeding Kids (RFK). The program started with ranchers donating cattle that were harvested and processed for local schools\u27 lunch programs. An educational event taught youth about livestock production, its importance to the local economy, and beef\u27s health benefits. In 4 years, the program has grown to include 32 schools in 13 different school districts, providing over 5,500 students with meals. Forty donated cattle, with a value of over $40,000, have provided 30,000 pounds of beef to schools

Programmed Death-1 Expression on Epstein Barr Virus Specific CD8+ T Cells Varies by Stage of Infection, Epitope Specificity, and T-Cell Receptor Usage

BACKGROUND: Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) is an inhibitory member of the CD28 family of molecules expressed on CD8+ T cells in response to antigenic stimulation. To better understand the role of PD-1 in antiviral immunity we examined the expression of PD-1 on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) epitope-specific CD8+ T cells during acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) and convalescence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using flow cytometry, we observed higher frequencies of EBV-specific CD8+ T cells and higher intensity of PD-1 expression on EBV-specific CD8+ T cells during AIM than during convalescence. PD-1 expression during AIM directly correlated with viral load and with the subsequent degree of CD8+ T cell contraction in convalescence. Consistent differences in PD-1 expression were observed between CD8+ T cells with specificity for two different EBV lytic antigen epitopes. Similar differences were observed in the degree to which PD-1 was upregulated on these epitope-specific CD8+ T cells following peptide stimulation in vitro. EBV epitope-specific CD8+ T cell proliferative responses to peptide stimulation were diminished during AIM regardless of PD-1 expression and were unaffected by blocking PD-1 interactions with PD-L1. Significant variability in PD-1 expression was observed on EBV epitope-specific CD8+ T cell subsets defined by V-beta usage. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These observations suggest that PD-1 expression is not only dependent on the degree of antigen presentation, but also on undefined characteristics of the responding cell that segregate with epitope specificity and V-beta usage

The depression in visual impairment trial (DEPVIT): trial design and protocol

<b>Background</b> The prevalence of depression in people with a visual disability is high but screening for depression and referral for treatment is not yet an integral part of visual rehabilitation service provision. One reason for this may be that there is no good evidence about the effectiveness of treatments in this patient group. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of depression treatments on people with a visual impairment and co morbid depression.<p></p> <b>Methods/design</b> The study is an exploratory, multicentre, individually randomised waiting list controlled trial. Participants will be randomised to receive Problem Solving Therapy (PST), a ‘referral to the GP’ requesting treatment according to the NICE’s ‘stepped care’ recommendations or the waiting list arm of the trial. The primary outcome measure is change (from randomisation) in depressive symptoms as measured by the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include change in depressive symptoms at 3 months, change in visual function as measured with the near vision subscale of the VFQ-48 and 7 item NEI-VFQ at 3 and 6 months, change in generic health related quality of life (EQ5D), the costs associated with PST, estimates of incremental cost effectiveness, and recruitment rate estimation.<p></p> <b>Discussion</b> Depression is prevalent in people with disabling visual impairment. This exploratory study will establish depression screening and referral for treatment in visual rehabilitation clinics in the UK. It will be the first to explore the efficacy of PST and the effectiveness of NICE’s ‘stepped care’ approach to the treatment of depression in people with a visual impairment.<p></p&gt

Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are high-production-volume chemicals used in plastics and resins for food packaging. They have been associated with endocrine disruption in animals and in some human studies. Human exposure sources have been estimated, but the relative contribution of dietary exposure to total intake has not been studied empirically

Child Psychosocial Adjustment and Parenting in Families Affected by Maternal HIV/AIDS

Child adjustment and parenting were examined in 23 9-through 16-year-old youth from families affected by maternal HIV infection and 20 same-age peers whose mothers were not infected. Children whose mothers were seropositive reported significantly more externalizing problems. Infected mothers reported less age-appropriate supervision/monitoring relative to non-infected mothers. Better mother-child relationship quality and less impairment in parental supervision/monitoring of age-appropriate youth behaviors were associated with fewer externalizing difficulties among the HIV-positive group only. Similarly, only among HIV-infected mothers was refraining from engaging in inconsistent disciplinary tactics associated with lower reports of internalizing and externalizing problems. These data highlight the promise of programs targeting parenting skills to prevent or ameliorate child difficulties

HIV-1 R5 Macrophage-Tropic Envelope Glycoprotein Trimers Bind CD4 with High Affinity, while the CD4 Binding Site on Non-macrophage-tropic, T-Tropic R5 Envelopes Is Occluded

HIV-1 R5 variants exploit CCR5 as a coreceptor to infect both T cells and macrophages. R5 viruses that are transmitted or derived from immune tissue and peripheral blood are mainly inefficient at mediating infection of macrophages. In contrast, highly macrophage-tropic (mac-tropic) R5 viruses predominate in brain tissue and can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid but are infrequent in immune tissue or blood even in late disease. These mac-tropic R5 variants carry envelope glycoproteins (Envs) adapted to exploit low levels of CD4 on macrophages to induce infection. However, it is unclear whether this adaptation is conferred by an increased affinity of the Env trimer for CD4 or is mediated by postbinding structural rearrangements in the trimer that enhance the exposure of the coreceptor binding site and facilitate events leading to fusion and virus entry. In this study, we investigated CD4 binding to mac-tropic and non-mac-tropic Env trimers and showed that CD4-IgG binds efficiently to mac-tropic R5 Env trimers, while binding to non-mac-tropic trimers was undetectable. Our data indicated that the CD4 binding site (CD4bs) is highly occluded on Env trimers of non-mac-tropic R5 viruses. Such viruses may therefore infect T cells via viral synapses where Env and CD4 become highly concentrated. This environment will enable high-avidity interactions that overcome extremely low Env-CD4 affinities. IMPORTANCE HIV R5 variants bind to CD4 and CCR5 receptors on T cells and macrophages to initiate infection. Transmitted HIV variants infect T cells but not macrophages, and these viral strains persist in immune tissue even in late disease. Here we show that the binding site for CD4 present on HIV\u27s envelope protein is occluded on viruses replicating in immune tissue. This occlusion likely prevents antibody binding to this site and neutralization of the virus, but it makes it difficult for virus-CD4 interactions to occur. Such viruses probably pass from T cell to T cell via cell contacts where CD4 is highly concentrated and allows infection via inefficient envelope-CD4 binding. Our data are highly relevant for vaccines that aim to induce antibodies targeting the CD4 binding site on the envelope protein

Subjects Agree to Participate in Environmental Health Studies without Fully Comprehending the Associated Risk

Recent advances in environmental health research have greatly improved our ability to measure and quantify how individuals are exposed. These advances, however, bring bioethical uncertainties and potential risks that individuals should be aware of before consenting to participate. This study assessed how well participants from two environmental health studies comprehended consent form material. After signing the consent form, participants were asked to complete a comprehension assessment tool. The tool measured whether participants could recognize or recall six elements of the consent form they had just reviewed. Additional data were collected to look for differences in comprehension by gender, age, race, and the time spent reading the original consent form. Seventy-three participants completed a comprehension assessment tool. Scores ranged from 1.91 to 6.00 (mean = 4.66); only three people had perfect comprehension scores. Among the least comprehended material were questions on study-related risks. Overall, 53% of participants were not aware of two or more study-related risks. As environmental public health studies pose uncertainties and potential risks, researchers need to do more to assess participants’ understanding before assuming that individuals have given their ‘informed’ consent

Validity of maximum isometric tongue pressure as a screening test for physical frailty: Cross-sectional study of Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Aim: Maximum isometric tongue pressure (MIP) seems to have a diagnostic value for oral phase dysphagia. The present study aimed to examine the association between MIP and frailty, and to assess the screening validity of MIP for physical frailty. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study, and enrolled participants aged ?60 years from Japanese national medical check-ups in 2015 and 2016. The Fried frailty phenotype model was used. We analyzed odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of physical frailty using one standard deviation increments of tongue pressure. Receiver operating characteristic curves were obtained to predict physical frailty using MIP values. Results: Out of 1603 participants, 968 were categorized as non-frail, 605 as pre-frail and 30 as frail. In logistic regression analysis, one standard deviation increment of MIP significantly differentiated frail and pre-frail: the OR for frail with one standard deviation increment in MIP was 0.37 (95% CI 0.26?0.54, P < 0.001), and the OR for pre-frail was 0.63 (95% CI 0.57?0.70, P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting frailty with MIP score was as high as 0.776 (95% CI 0.689?0.862). A point of MIP 35 kPa had a sensitivity of 90.0%, specificity of 40.4%, a positive likelihood ratio of 1.5 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.2 for predicting frailty. Conclusions: MIP performance is independently associated with frailty. MIP also can be used as a simple screening tool for frailty