A systematic review of current knowledge of HIV epidemiology and of sexual behaviour in Nepal

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review information on HIV epidemiology and on sexual behaviour in Nepal with a view to identifying gaps in current knowledge. METHODS: Systematic review covering electronic databases, web-based information, personal contact with experts and hand searching of key journals. RESULTS: HIV-1 seroprevalence has been rising rapidly in association with high-risk behaviours, with current levels of 40% amongst the nation's injecting drug users and approaching 20% amongst Kathmandu's female commercial sex workers (FCSWs). HIV seroprevalence remains low in the general population (0.29% of 15–49 year olds). There are significant methodological limitations in many of the seroprevalence studies identified, and these estimates need to be treated with caution. There are extensive migration patterns both within the country and internationally which provide the potential for considerable sexual networking. However, studies of sexual behaviour have focused on FCSWs and the extent of sexual networks within the general population is largely unknown. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst some of the ingredients are present for an explosive HIV epidemic in Nepal, crucial knowledge on sexual behaviour in the general population is missing. Research on sexual networking is urgently required to guide HIV control in Nepal. There is also a need for further good-quality epidemiological studies of HIV seroprevalence

Papua New Guinea: a potential refuge for threatened Indo–Pacific river sharks and sawfishes

The conservation of threatened elasmobranchs in tropical regions is challenging due to high local reliance on aquatic and marine resources. Due primarily to fishing pressure, river sharks (Glyphis) and sawfishes (Pristidae) have experienced large population declines in the Indo-Pacific. Papua New Guinea (PNG) may offer a refuge for these species, as human population density is low, and river shark and sawfish populations are thought to persist. However, few data are available on these species in PNG, and risk posed by small-scale fishers is poorly understood. This study observed elasmobranch catches in small-scale fisheries in riverine and coastal environments in the East Sepik (northern region), Gulf, and Western Provinces (southern region) of PNG. Surveys were conducted over a period of weeks to months in each region, during the dry season across seven field trips from 2017 to 2020. We observed a total of 783 elasmobranchs encompassing 38 species from 10 families. River sharks made up 29.4% of observations in the southern region, while sawfishes made up 14.8 and 20.3% in the northern and southern regions, respectively. River sharks were commonly caught by small-scale fishers in lower riverine environments in southern PNG, while sawfishes were generally less common and mainly observed through dried rostra. The primary threat to river shark and sawfish populations is their capture by small-scale fishers targeting teleosts for swim bladder. Persisting populations of river sharks and sawfishes indicate that PNG is the second known nation with viable populations of multiple species in the Indo-Pacific. However, populations are declining or at high risk of decline, and fisheries management and conservation are required to realize the potential of PNG as a long-term refuge

1976 Research Progress Reports; Fruit and Vegetable Processing and Food Technology

Evaluation of tomato cultivars for processing / W. A. Gould, R. Stillabower and D. Grindell -- Using tomato seeds / J. R. Geisman -- Evaluation of snap bean cultivars for processing / W. A. Gould and R. Stillabower -- Flame sterilization of canned green beans / J. R. Mount and W. A. Gould -- Flame sterilization of canned peas / J. R. Ice, J. R. Mount and W. A. Gould -- Flame sterilization of other canned products / John Mount and W. A. Gould -- Determination of factors affecting heat penetration in flame sterilized canned whole kernel sweet corn / R. Joseph and W. A. Gould -- Geotrichum candidum: the new FDA indicator of plant sanitation for the food processing industry / J. G. Fox and W. A. Gould -- Recycling spent pickling brines ; Uses for the outer green leaves of cabbage / J. R. Geisman -- The development of a fish spread by the utilization of freshwater drum from Lake Erie / J. D. Morgan and W. A. Gould -- Development of a sausage product from Lake Erie freshwater drum / S. Hauck and W. A. Gould -- Utilization of Lake Erie freshwater drum for fish sticks / W. Stone and W. A. Gould -- Acidification and thermal processing of tripolyphosphate treated freshwater drum fillets / T. F. Chin and W. A. Gould -- Effect of lipid and fatty acid composition on keeping quality / Andrew C. Peng -- Grape lipids / P. A. Higgins and A. C. Peng -- The effect of maturation on the lipid content of 'Concord' grapes / John A. Bauman and James F. Gallander -- Stability of ascorbic acid in fortified apple juice / M. I. Mahmoud and W. A. Gould -- Wine deacidification with mixed cultures of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; The effect of bacterial inoculum on malo-lactic fermentation in wines ; Concentrations of tartaric and malic acids of several wine varieties grown in Ohio / J. F. Gallander and J. F. Stetso

Smokeless Tobacco Use and the Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: Pooled Analysis of US Studies in the INHANCE Consortium

Previous studies on smokeless tobacco use and head and neck cancer (HNC) have found inconsistent and often imprecise estimates, with limited control for cigarette smoking. Using pooled data from 11 US case-control studies (1981–2006) of oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers (6,772 cases and 8,375 controls) in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) Consortium, we applied hierarchical logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for ever use, frequency of use, and duration of use of snuff and chewing tobacco separately for never and ever cigarette smokers. Ever use (versus never use) of snuff was strongly associated with HNC among never cigarette smokers (odds ratio (OR) = 1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08, 2.70), particularly for oral cavity cancers (OR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.63, 5.55). Although ever (versus never) tobacco chewing was weakly associated with HNC among never cigarette smokers (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.81, 1.77), analyses restricted to cancers of the oral cavity showed a stronger association (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.17). Few or no associations between each type of smokeless tobacco and HNC were observed among ever cigarette smokers, possibly reflecting residual confounding by smoking. Smokeless tobacco use appears to be associated with HNC, especially oral cancers, with snuff being more strongly associated than chewing tobacco

Characterizing genomic alterations in cancer by complementary functional associations.

Systematic efforts to sequence the cancer genome have identified large numbers of mutations and copy number alterations in human cancers. However, elucidating the functional consequences of these variants, and their interactions to drive or maintain oncogenic states, remains a challenge in cancer research. We developed REVEALER, a computational method that identifies combinations of mutually exclusive genomic alterations correlated with functional phenotypes, such as the activation or gene dependency of oncogenic pathways or sensitivity to a drug treatment. We used REVEALER to uncover complementary genomic alterations associated with the transcriptional activation of β-catenin and NRF2, MEK-inhibitor sensitivity, and KRAS dependency. REVEALER successfully identified both known and new associations, demonstrating the power of combining functional profiles with extensive characterization of genomic alterations in cancer genomes

Environment Impacts the Metabolic Dependencies of Ras-Driven Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Cultured cells convert glucose to lactate, and glutamine is the major source of tricarboxylic acid (TCA)-cycle carbon, but whether the same metabolic phenotype is found in tumors is less studied. We infused mice with lung cancers with isotope-labeled glucose or glutamine and compared the fate of these nutrients in tumor and normal tissue. As expected, lung tumors exhibit increased lactate production from glucose. However, glutamine utilization by both lung tumors and normal lung was minimal, with lung tumors showing increased glucose contribution to the TCA cycle relative to normal lung tissue. Deletion of enzymes involved in glucose oxidation demonstrates that glucose carbon contribution to the TCA cycle is required for tumor formation. These data suggest that understanding nutrient utilization by tumors can predict metabolic dependencies of cancers in vivo. Furthermore, these data argue that the in vivo environment is an important determinant of the metabolic phenotype of cancer cells.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant T32GM007287

FLT-PET-CT for the Detection of Disease Recurrence After Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy or Hyperfractionation for Thoracic Malignancy: A Prospective Pilot Study

Differentiating local recurrence from post-treatment changes on PET scans following stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) or hyperfractionation for lung tumors is challenging. We performed a prospective pilot study of 3-deoxy-3-[18F]-fluorothymidine (FLT)-PET-CT in patients with equivocal post-radiation FDG-PET-CT to assess disease recurrence.Methods: We prospectively enrolled 10 patients, 9 treated with SABR and 1 with hyperfractionated external beam radiotherapy for thoracic malignancy with subsequent equivocal follow-up FDG-PET-CT, to undergo FLT-PET-CT prior to biopsy or serial imaging. FLT-PET scans were interpreted by a radiologist with experience in reading FLT-PET-CT and blinded to the results of any subsequent biopsy or imaging.Results: Of the 10 patients enrolled, 8 were evaluable after FLT-PET-CT. Based on the FLT-PET-CT, a blinded radiologist accurately predicted disease recurrence vs. inflammatory changes in 7 patients (87.5%). The combination of higher lesion SUVmax and higher ratio of lesion SUVmax to SUVmax of mediastinal blood pool was indicative of recurrence. Qualitative assessment of increased degree of focality of the lesion also appears to be indicative of disease recurrence.Conclusion: Adjunctive FLT-PET-CT imaging can complement FDG-PET-CT scan in distinguishing post-treatment radiation changes from disease recurrence in thoracic malignancies. These findings support the investigation of FLT-PET-CT in a larger prospective study