Distribution of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes among HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Women in Cape Town, South Africa

OBJECTIVE: HIV-positive women are known to be at high-risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its associated cervical pathology. Here, we describe the prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes among HIV-positive and -negative women in South Africa, with and without cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS: We report data on 1,371 HIV-positive women and 8,050 HIV-negative women, aged 17-65 years, recruited into three sequential studies in Cape Town, South Africa, conducted among women who had no history of cervical cancer screening recruited from the general population. All women were tested for HIV. Cervical samples were tested for high-risk HPV DNA (Hybrid Capture 2) with positive samples tested to determine the specific genotype (Line Blot). CIN status was determined based on colposcopy and biopsy. RESULTS: The HPV prevalence was higher among HIV-positive women (52.4%) than among HIV-negative women (20.8%) overall and in all age groups. Younger women, aged 17-19 years, had the highest HPV prevalence regardless of HIV status. HIV-positive women were more likely to have CIN 2 or 3 than HIV-negative women. HPV 16, 35, and 58 were the most common high-risk HPV types with no major differences in the type distribution by HIV status. HPV 18 was more common in older HIV-positive women (40-65 years) with no or low grade disease, but less common in younger women (17-29 years) with CIN 2 or 3 compared to HIV-negative counterparts (p \u3c 0.03). Infections with multiple high-risk HPV types were more common in HIV-positive than HIV-negative women, controlling for age and cervical disease status. CONCLUSION: HIV-positive women were more likely to have high-risk HPV than HIV-negative women; but, among those with HPV, the distribution of HPV types was similar by HIV status. Screening strategies incorporating HPV genotyping and vaccination should be effective in preventing cervical cancer in both HIV-positive and -negative women living in sub-Saharan Africa

Supporting User-Defined Functions on Uncertain Data

Uncertain data management has become crucial in many sensing and scientific applications. As user-defined functions (UDFs) become widely used in these applications, an important task is to capture result uncertainty for queries that evaluate UDFs on uncertain data. In this work, we provide a general framework for supporting UDFs on uncertain data. Specifically, we propose a learning approach based on Gaussian processes (GPs) to compute approximate output distributions of a UDF when evaluated on uncertain input, with guaranteed error bounds. We also devise an online algorithm to compute such output distributions, which employs a suite of optimizations to improve accuracy and performance. Our evaluation using both real-world and synthetic functions shows that our proposed GP approach can outperform the state-of-the-art sampling approach with up to two orders of magnitude improvement for a variety of UDFs. 1

Hilltop Curvature Increases With the Square Root of Erosion Rate

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Gabet, E. J., Mudd, S. M., Wood, R. W., Grieve, S. W. D., Binnie, S. A., & Dunai, T. J. (2021). Hilltop curvature increases with the square root of erosion rate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126, e2020JF005858. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005858, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005858. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions

Characterization and manipulation of fruit susceptibility to \u3ci\u3eDrosophila suzukii\u3c/i\u3e

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is an economic pest of small fruits and cherries that attacks intact ripening fruits. Host susceptibility may be influenced by characteristics such as flesh firmness, penetration force of the skin, total soluble solids (TSS, also known as Brix), and pH. Improved knowledge of factors affecting fruit susceptibility is needed for developing thresholds and risk prediction models for IPM. A combination of laboratory and field studies was conducted to develop prediction and potential management tools. First, a direct bioassay was used to calculate the probability of oviposition in a given fruit based on various characteristics as determined across laboratory and field trials in Oregon and North Carolina, US. When multiple characteristics were evaluated simultaneously, oviposition probability consistently increased as penetration force decreased and pH increased. Oviposition probability sometimes increased as TSS increased. Second, raspberries and blueberries in unsprayed fields had substantially lower infestation in ripening fruit compared to ripe fruit. There was no or minimal infestation in green fruit. Third, given that skin penetration force influences oviposition, practices used to improve fruit quality were examined in laboratory no-choice cages for potential reduction of oviposition. Blueberry fruit sprayed with calcium silicate in the field had greater penetration force and firmness and reduced number of eggs laid by D. suzukii compared to untreated fruit. Other calcium-based treatments increased Ca content and firmness of fruit relative to untreated fruit. Timing of insecticide spray for D. suzukii might be delayed until fruit become susceptible

Holocene sediment distribution on the inner continental shelf of northeastern South Carolina : implications for the regional sediment budget and long-term shoreline response

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Continental Shelf Research 56 (2013): 56-70, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2013.02.004.High-resolution geophysical and sediment sampling surveys were conducted offshore of the Grand Strand, South Carolina to define the shallow geologic framework of the inner shelf. Results are used to identify and map Holocene sediment deposits, infer sediment transport pathways, and discuss implications for the regional coastal sediment budget. The thickest deposits of Holocene sediment observed on the inner shelf form shoal complexes composed of moderately sorted fine sand, which are primarily located offshore of modern tidal inlets. These shoal deposits contain ∼67 M m3 of sediment, approximately 96% of Holocene sediment stored on the inner shelf. Due to the lack of any significant modern fluvial input of sand to the region, the Holocene deposits are likely derived from reworking of relict Pleistocene and older inner-shelf deposits during the Holocene marine transgression. The Holocene sediments are concentrated in the southern part of the study area, due to a combination of ancestral drainage patterns, a regional shift in sediment supply from the northeast to the southwest in the late Pleistocene, and proximity to modern inlet systems. Where sediment is limited, only small, low relief ridges have formed and Pleistocene and older deposits are exposed on the seafloor. The low-relief ridges are likely the result of a thin, mobile veneer of sediment being transported across an irregular, erosional surface formed during the last transgression. Sediment textural trends and seafloor morphology indicate a long-term net transport of sediment to the southwest. This is supported by oceanographic studies that suggest the long-term sediment transport direction is controlled by the frequency and intensity of storms that pass through the region, where low pressure systems yield net along-shore flow to the southwest and a weak onshore component. Current sediment budget estimates for the Grand Strand yield a deficit for the region. Volume calculations of Holocene deposits on the inner shelf suggest that there is sufficient sediment to balance the sediment budget and provide a source of sediment to the shoreline. Although the processes controlling cross-shelf sediment transport are not fully understood, in sediment-limited environments such as the Grand Strand, erosion of the inner shelf likely contributes significant sediment to the beach system

Tamoxifen inhibits the biosynthesis of inositolphosphorylceramide in Leishmania

Previous work from our group showed that tamoxifen, an oral drug that has been in use for the treatment of breast cancer for over 40 years, is active both in vitro and in vivo against several species of Leishmania, the etiological agent of leishmaniasis. Using a combination of metabolic labeling with [3H]-sphingosine and myo-[3H]-inositol, alkaline hydrolysis, HPTLC fractionations and mass spectrometry analyses, we observed a perturbation in the metabolism of inositolphosphorylceramides (IPCs) and phosphatidylinositols (PIs) after treatment of L. amazonensis promastigotes with tamoxifen, with a significant reduction in the biosynthesis of the major IPCs (composed of d16:1/18:0-IPC, t16:0/C18:0-IPC, d18:1/18:0-IPC and t16:0/20:0-IPC) and PIs (sn-1-O-(C18:0)alkyl -2-O-(C18:1)acylglycerol-3-HPO4-inositol and sn-1-O-(C18:0)acyl-2-O-(C18:1)acylglycerol-3-HPO4-inositol) species. Substrate saturation kinetics of myo-inositol uptake analyses indicated that inhibition of inositol transport or availability were not the main reasons for the reduced biosynthesis of IPC and PI observed in tamoxifen treated parasites. An in vitro enzymatic assay was used to show that tamoxifen was able to inhibit the Leishmania IPC synthase with an IC50 value of 8.48 μM (95% CI 7.68–9.37), suggesting that this enzyme is most likely one of the targets for this compound in the parasites

South African women’s perspectives on self-sampling for cervical cancer screening: A mixed-methods study

Background. Self-sampling as a method of screening for cervical cancer and its precursors is an attractive option for low-resource settings. However, to allow successful integration of self-sampling into national screening programmes, it is necessary to understand women’s perceptions and beliefs surrounding this method of sampling the cervix.Objectives. To explore women’s attitudes to self-collection of samples for cervical screening in a low-resource setting in South Africa (SA).Methods. Mixed methods were used to meet the study objectives. We recruited women aged 30 - 65 years into a study in Cape Town, SA, to participate in a cross-sectional survey. All women collected a vaginal self-sample, and underwent visual inspection with acetic acid, colposcopy, and collection of cervical samples and appropriate histology specimens by a doctor. Women had a quantitative questionnairebased exit interview. A subset of these women participated in focus group discussions (FGDs).Results. A total of 822 women answered the exit survey questionnaire and 41 women participated in the FGDs. Most women from the survey had a positive perception of self-sampling, with 93.6% of the women reporting not feeling embarrassed and 89.4% reporting experiencing no discomfort at all when taking a self-sample. This was  corroborated by the FGD participants, who found self-sampling easier, more comfortable and less embarrassing than clinician sampling. However, many women (64.7%) felt more confident when the sample was taken by a clinician, despite having a positive attitude towards self-sampling. In most cases this was because they thought that the clinician would take a better sample, as explained by the FGD  participants. Although 93.9% of the women were  willing to collect a selfsample, the women in the FGDs expressed a preference for doing so at the health facility  rather than at home. There were many reasons for this, including the cost of returning to the clinic with the sample.Conclusions. Attitudes regarding self-sample collection were positive in this study population. Participants were willing to perform selfsampling, but expressed concerns regarding the quality of the specimen and the financial implications of returning to the clinic with it. Pilot implementation studies will be useful before this method of sampling is adopted and integrated into screening programmes

Multiple-Point and Multiple-Time Correlations Functions in a Hard-Sphere Fluid

A recent mode coupling theory of higher-order correlation functions is tested on a simple hard-sphere fluid system at intermediate densities. Multi-point and multi-time correlation functions of the densities of conserved variables are calculated in the hydrodynamic limit and compared to results obtained from event-based molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that the mode coupling theory results are in excellent agreement with the simulation results provided that dissipative couplings are included in the vertices appearing in the theory. In contrast, simplified mode coupling theories in which the densities obey Gaussian statistics neglect important contributions to both the multi-point and multi-time correlation functions on all time scales.Comment: Second one in a sequence of two (in the first, the formalism was developed). 12 pages REVTeX. 5 figures (eps). Submitted to Phys.Rev.

Bioactive fraction of geopropolis from Melipona scutellaris decreases neutrophils migration in the inflammatory process: involvement of nitric oxide pathway

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOThe aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of the ethanolic extract of geopropolis (EEGP) from Melipona scutellaris and its fractions on the modulation of neutrophil migration in the inflammatory process, and the participation of nitric oxide (NO) pathway, as well as to check the chemical profile of the bioactive fraction. EEGP and its aqueous fraction decreased neutrophil migration in the peritoneal cavity and also the interaction of leukocytes (rolling and adhesion) with endothelial cells. The levels of chemokines CXCL1/KC and CXCL2/MIP-2 were not altered after treatment with EEGP and the aqueous fraction. It was found that the injection of NO pathway antagonists abolished the EEGP and the aqueous fraction inhibitory activity on the neutrophil migration. The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 (ICAM-1) was reduced, and nitrite levels increased after treatment with EEGP and aqueous fraction. In the carrageenan-induced paw edema model, EEGP and the aqueous fraction showed antiedema activity. No pattern of flavonoid and phenolic acid commonly found in propolis samples of Apis mellifera could be detected in the aqueous fraction samples. These data indicate that the aqueous fraction found has promising bioactive substances with anti-inflammatory activity2013FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFAPESP [2009/12352-3, 2010/20214-7]2009/12352-3; 2010/20214-

Distinct hippocampal engrams control extinction and relapse of fear memory

Learned fear often relapses after extinction, suggesting that extinction training generates a new memory that coexists with the original fear memory; however, the mechanisms governing the expression of competing fear and extinction memories remain unclear. We used activity-dependent neural tagging to investigate representations of fear and extinction memories in the dentate gyrus. We demonstrate that extinction training suppresses reactivation of contextual fear engram cells while activating a second ensemble, a putative extinction engram. Optogenetic inhibition of neurons that were active during extinction training increased fear after extinction training, whereas silencing neurons that were active during fear training reduced spontaneous recovery of fear. Optogenetic stimulation of fear acquisition neurons increased fear, while stimulation of extinction neurons suppressed fear and prevented spontaneous recovery. Our results indicate that the hippocampus generates a fear extinction representation and that interactions between hippocampal fear and extinction representations govern the suppression and relapse of fear after extinction.We thank J. Dunsmoor for comments on the manuscript. A.F.L. was supported by NIH F31 MH111243 and NIH T32 MH106454. S.L.S. was supported by PD/BD/128076/2016 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Research supported by NIH DP5 OD017908 and New York Stem Cell Science (NYSTEM) C-029157 to C.A.D., NIH R01 MH102595 and NIH R21 EY026446 to M.R.