Home-based voluntary HIV counselling and testing found highly acceptable and to reduce inequalities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Low uptake of voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) in sub-Saharan Africa is raising acceptability concerns which might be associated with ways by which it is offered. We investigated the acceptability of home-based delivery of counselling and HIV testing in urban and rural populations in Zambia where VCT has been offered mostly from local clinics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based HIV survey was conducted in selected communities in 2003 (n = 5035). All participants stating willingness to be HIV tested were offered VCT at home and all counselling was conducted in the participants' homes. In the urban area post-test counselling and giving of results were done the following day whereas in rural areas this could take 1-3 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of those who indicated willingness to be HIV tested, 76.1% (95%CI 74.9-77.2) were counselled and received the test result. Overall, there was an increase in the proportion ever HIV tested from 18% before provision of home-based VCT to 38% after. The highest increase was in rural areas; among young rural men aged 15-24 years up from 14% to 42% vs. for urban men from 17% to 37%. Test rates by educational attainment changed from being positively associated to be evenly distributed after home-based VCT.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high uptake was achieved by delivering HIV counselling and testing at home. The highest uptakes were seen in rural areas, in young people and groups with low educational attainment, resulting in substantial reductions in existing inequalities in accessing VCT services.</p

Cholinergic receptor pathways involved in apoptosis, cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation

Acetylcholine (ACh) has been shown to modulate neuronal differentiation during early development. Both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) regulate a wide variety of physiological responses, including apoptosis, cellular proliferation and neuronal differentiation. However, the intracellular mechanisms underlying these effects of AChR signaling are not fully understood. It is known that activation of AChRs increase cellular proliferation and neurogenesis and that regulation of intracellular calcium through AChRs may underlie the many functions of ACh. Intriguingly, activation of diverse signaling molecules such as Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt, protein kinase C and c-Src is modulated by AChRs. Here we discuss the roles of ACh in neuronal differentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. We also discuss the pathways involved in these processes, as well as the effects of novel endogenous AChRs agonists and strategies to enhance neuronal-differentiation of stem and neural progenitor cells. Further understanding of the intracellular mechanisms underlying AChR signaling may provide insights for novel therapeutic strategies, as abnormal AChR activity is present in many diseases

Enhanced Longevity by Ibuprofen, Conserved in Multiple Species, Occurs in Yeast through Inhibition of Tryptophan Import

The common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen has been associated with a reduced risk of some age-related pathologies. However, a general pro-longevity role for ibuprofen and its mechanistic basis remains unclear. Here we show that ibuprofen increased the lifespan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, indicative of conserved eukaryotic longevity effects. Studies in yeast indicate that ibuprofen destabilizes the Tat2p permease and inhibits tryptophan uptake. Loss of Tat2p increased replicative lifespan (RLS), but ibuprofen did not increase RLS when Tat2p was stabilized or in an already long-lived strain background impaired for aromatic amino acid uptake. Concomitant with lifespan extension, ibuprofen moderately reduced cell size at birth, leading to a delay in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Similar changes in cell cycle progression were evident in a large dataset of replicatively long-lived yeast deletion strains. These results point to fundamental cell cycle signatures linked with longevity, implicate aromatic amino acid import in aging and identify a largely safe drug that extends lifespan across different kingdoms of life.The open access fee for this work was funded through the Texas A&M University Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Fund

An experimental evaluation of transgenerational isotope labelling in a coral reef grouper

Transgenerational isotope labelling (TRAIL) using enriched stable isotopes provides a novel means of mass-marking marine fish larvae and estimating larval dispersal. The technique, therefore, provides a new way of addressing questions about demographic population connectivity and larval export from no-take marine protected areas. However, successful field applications must be preceded by larval rearing studies that validate the geochemical marking technique, determine appropriate concentrations and demonstrate that larvae are not adversely affected. Here, we test whether injection of enriched stable barium isotopes (135Ba and 137Ba) at two dose rates produces unequivocal marks on the otoliths of the coral reef grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. We also assess potential negative effects on reproductive performance, egg size, condition and larval growth due to injection of adult female fish. The injection of barium isotopes at both 0.5 and 2.0 mg Ba/kg body weight into the body cavities of gravid female Wsh was 100% successful in the geochemical tagging of the otoliths of larvae from the first spawning after injection. The low-dose rate produced no negative effects on eggs or larvae. However, the higher dose rate of 2 mg Ba/kg produced small reductions in yolk sac area, oil globule area, standard length and head depth of pre-feeding larvae. Given the success of the 0.5 mg Ba/kg dose rate, it is clearly possible to produce a reliable mark and keep the concentration below any level that could affect larval growth or survival. Hence, enriched Ba isotope injections will provide an effective means of mass-marking grouper larvae