Alcohol, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Obesity among People Living with HIV

Introduction In an expanding HAART era, obesity has become a health problem among persons living with HIV (PLWH). Whereas the rising level of obesity has been largely attributed to poor nutrition and exercise habits, differences in biological factors may explain why some individuals gain more weight than others. Thus, our main goal is to prospectively determine in PLWH whether plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and hazardous alcohol use (HAU), two overlooked but highly prevalent conditions among PLWH, correlate with an adverse anthropometric profile. Also to test whether these relationships varied in men and women Methods The Platelets mediating Alcohol and HIV Damage Study (PADS) is an ongoing multiethnic study of 400 PLWH receiving regular medical care in South Florida (37% females and 63% males). Semi-annual visits consisted of a medical exam, including anthropometrics to assess both general (body mass index: BMI) and central obesity (waist and hip circumferences). Participants also completed health history questionnaires, and provided a fasting blood sample to obtain BDNF and immune and biochemical assessments. Results A sizable proportion of participants met the National Institutes of Health definition of overweight (BMI = 25?29.9 kg/m2; 26%) and obese (BMI ? 30 kg/m2; 35%). Women were more likely to be obese than men (OR=4.9, 95% CI=2.9?8.2, p=0.0001). Compared to men, women also exhibited the highest mean plasma BDNF levels (9,959 ± 6,578 vs. 7,470 ± 6,068 pg/ml, p=0.0001). Additional analyses indicated that HAU, particularly heavy drinkers, had the smallest waist and hip circumferences if they were males, but the opposite if they were females. High BDNF levels were positively correlated with BMI. Linear regression analysis revealed that gender, BDNF, and HAU were the best predictors of BMI. Conclusion In summary, our findings offer novel insights into the relationships between BDNF, and alcohol use among overweight and obese PLWH. Our results also suggest that these relationships may be inherently different by gender

Reduction in Drinking was Associated With Improved Clinical Outcomes in Women With HIV Infection and Unhealthy Alcohol Use: Results From a Randomized Clinical Trial of Oral Naltrexone Versus Placebo

Background Alcohol consumption is associated with poor health outcomes in women living with HIV (WLWH), but whether medication can help to reduce drinking in non–treatment‐seeking women or whether reduction in drinking improves HIV outcomes is unclear. We conducted a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of daily oral naltrexone (50 mg) versus placebo in WLWH who met criteria for current unhealthy alcohol use. Methods WLWH with current unhealthy alcohol use (\u3e7 drinks/wk or \u3e3 drinks/occasion) were randomly assigned to daily oral naltrexone 50 mg (n = 96) or placebo (n = 98) for 4 months. Drinking outcomes, including the proportion of women who reduced ( Results The participants’ mean age was 48 years, 86% were African American, and 94% were receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy. Among all participants, 89% and 85% completed the 4‐month and 7‐month follow‐ups, respectively. Participants in both groups substantially reduced drinking over time. At 1 and 3 months, naltrexone was associated with a greater reduction in drinking (p \u3c 0.05), but the proportion who reduced/quit drinking at 4 months (52% vs. 45%, p = 0.36) or 7 months (64% in both groups) was not different. HIV viral suppression at follow‐up was significantly better in participants who reduced/quit drinking versus those continuing unhealthy alcohol use at 4 months (72% vs. 53%, p = 0.02) and 7 months (74% vs. 54%, p = 0.02). Conclusions Participating in an RCT to reduce drinking was associated with significant drinking reduction regardless of medication assignment, suggesting that nonmedication aspects of research study participation (e.g., repeated assessments and support from research staff) could be important interventions to help reduce drinking outside of research studies. Drinking reduction was associated with improved HIV viral suppression, providing evidence to support recommendations to avoid unhealthy alcohol use among WLWH

The Effect of Different Electric Toothbrush Technologies on Interdental Plaque Removal. A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

The removal of dental plaque from the gingival margins of teeth is essential to maintain periodontal health. Whilst it has been established that the electric toothbrush demonstrates a greater ability to remove plaque, no systematic review has specifically investigated which technology is better for removing plaque from the interdental tooth surfaces, where plaque control may be more difficult. Three databases were searched up to October 2023: MEDLINE, DOSSS via EBSCO host and Embase. Data extraction was carried out on studies which met the inclusion criteria, and a risk of bias assessment was completed. The study findings were combined via a narrative synthesis and a meta-analysis where appropriate. Seventy-seven studies were found, out of which 14 were selected and included for the analysis. The mean difference in interproximal plaque reduction, measured using the Rustogi Modified Naval Plaque Index (RMNPI) at 8 weeks was 0.09 (p<0.00001) in favor of the oscillating-rotating toothbrush. At 6 and 12 weeks, the mean difference in plaque reduction (RMNPI) was 0.05 (p=0.0008) and 0.04 (p=0.0001) in favor of the oscillating-rotating toothbrush, respectively. The studies show a tendency for oscillating-rotating toothbrushes to remove more interproximal plaque than oscillating toothbrushes especially in a short time (8 weeks)

A temperate former West Antarctic ice sheet suggested by an extensive zone of bed channels

Several recent studies predict that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will become increasingly unstable under warmer conditions. Insights on such change can be assisted through investigations of the subglacial landscape, which contains imprints of former ice-sheet behavior. Here, we present radio-echo sounding data and satellite imagery revealing a series of ancient large sub-parallel subglacial bed channels preserved in the region between the Möller and Foundation Ice Streams, West Antarctica. We suggest that these newly recognized channels were formed by significant meltwater routed along the icesheet bed. The volume of water required is likely substantial and can most easily be explained by water generated at the ice surface. The Greenland Ice Sheet today exemplifies how significant seasonal surface melt can be transferred to the bed via englacial routing. For West Antarctica, the Pliocene (2.6–5.3 Ma) represents the most recent sustained period when temperatures could have been high enough to generate surface melt comparable to that of present-day Greenland. We propose, therefore, that a temperate ice sheet covered this location during Pliocene warm periods

Automatic Filters for the Detection of Coherent Structure in Spatiotemporal Systems

Most current methods for identifying coherent structures in spatially-extended systems rely on prior information about the form which those structures take. Here we present two new approaches to automatically filter the changing configurations of spatial dynamical systems and extract coherent structures. One, local sensitivity filtering, is a modification of the local Lyapunov exponent approach suitable to cellular automata and other discrete spatial systems. The other, local statistical complexity filtering, calculates the amount of information needed for optimal prediction of the system's behavior in the vicinity of a given point. By examining the changing spatiotemporal distributions of these quantities, we can find the coherent structures in a variety of pattern-forming cellular automata, without needing to guess or postulate the form of that structure. We apply both filters to elementary and cyclical cellular automata (ECA and CCA) and find that they readily identify particles, domains and other more complicated structures. We compare the results from ECA with earlier ones based upon the theory of formal languages, and the results from CCA with a more traditional approach based on an order parameter and free energy. While sensitivity and statistical complexity are equally adept at uncovering structure, they are based on different system properties (dynamical and probabilistic, respectively), and provide complementary information.Comment: 16 pages, 21 figures. Figures considerably compressed to fit arxiv requirements; write first author for higher-resolution version