A profile of food insecurity dynamics in rural and small town Ethiopia

Using panel data from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS), representative of all people living in rural and small-town areas, this paper describes changing patterns of food security between 2012 and 2014. We examine four measures of food security – two consumption based (calories and dietary diversity) and two experience based (whether food insecurity was experienced in any month, and whether any actions were taken in response).Over all four measures in both years, the share of the food insecure population was never less than 25 percent. Disentangling chronic from transitory food insecurity is important for policy design and for estimating the total food insecurity count over time. For example, the average rate of inadequate dietary diversity was approximately 30 percent in both 2012 and 2014, but the panel data reveal that 46 percent of the rural and small-town population had inadequately diverse diets at some point over the period. While the cross-sectional estimates suggest similar patterns in levels and trends of the measures, the panel data reveal that there is very little comovement of the measures. For example, observing that someone has improved in terms of dietary diversity does not reveal information as to whether she or he has similarly improved in terms of the experiential-based measures.Keywords: Ethiopia, food security, povert

Epidemiology of anal human papillomavirus infection and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in 29 900 men according to HIV status, sexuality, and age: a collaborative pooled analysis of 64 studies

Age Factors; Anal human papillomavirus infection; SexualityFactores de edad; Infección anal por virus del papiloma humano; SexualidadFactors d'edat; Infecció anal pel virus del papil·loma humà; SexualitatBackground Robust age-specific estimates of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) in men can inform anal cancer prevention efforts. We aimed to evaluate the age-specific prevalence of anal HPV, HSIL, and their combination, in men, stratified by HIV status and sexuality. Methods We did a systematic review for studies on anal HPV infection in men and a pooled analysis of individual-level data from eligible studies across four groups: HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), HIV-negative MSM, HIV-positive men who have sex with women (MSW), and HIV-negative MSW. Studies were required to inform on type-specific HPV infection (at least HPV16), detected by use of a PCR-based test from anal swabs, HIV status, sexuality (MSM, including those who have sex with men only or also with women, or MSW), and age. Authors of eligible studies with a sample size of 200 participants or more were invited to share deidentified individual-level data on the above four variables. Authors of studies including 40 or more HIV-positive MSW or 40 or more men from Africa (irrespective of HIV status and sexuality) were also invited to share these data. Pooled estimates of anal high-risk HPV (HR-HPV, including HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, and 68), and HSIL or worse (HSIL+), were compared by use of adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) from generalised linear models. Findings The systematic review identified 93 eligible studies, of which 64 contributed data on 29 900 men to the pooled analysis. Among HIV-negative MSW anal HPV16 prevalence was 1·8% (91 of 5190) and HR-HPV prevalence was 6·9% (345 of 5003); among HIV-positive MSW the prevalences were 8·7% (59 of 682) and 26·9% (179 of 666); among HIV-negative MSM they were 13·7% (1455 of 10 617) and 41·2% (3798 of 9215), and among HIV-positive MSM 28·5% (3819 of 13 411) and 74·3% (8765 of 11 803). In HIV-positive MSM, HPV16 prevalence was 5·6% (two of 36) among those age 15–18 years and 28·8% (141 of 490) among those age 23–24 years (ptrend=0·0091); prevalence was 31·7% (1057 of 3337) among those age 25–34 years and 22·8% (451 of 1979) among those age 55 and older (ptrend<0·0001). HPV16 prevalence in HIV-negative MSM was 6·7% (15 of 223) among those age 15–18 and 13·9% (166 of 1192) among those age 23–24 years (ptrend=0·0076); the prevalence plateaued thereafter (ptrend=0·72). Similar age-specific patterns were observed for HR-HPV. No significant differences for HPV16 or HR-HPV were found by age for either HIV-positive or HIV-negative MSW. HSIL+ detection ranged from 7·5% (12 of 160) to 54·5% (61 of 112) in HIV-positive MSM; after adjustment for heterogeneity, HIV was a significant predictor of HSIL+ (aPR 1·54, 95% CI 1·36–1·73), HPV16-positive HSIL+ (1·66, 1·36–2·03), and HSIL+ in HPV16-positive MSM (1·19, 1·04–1·37). Among HPV16-positive MSM, HSIL+ prevalence increased with age. Interpretation High anal HPV prevalence among young HIV-positive and HIV-negative MSM highlights the benefits of gender-neutral HPV vaccination before sexual activity over catch-up vaccination. HIV-positive MSM are a priority for anal cancer screening research and initiatives targeting HPV16-positive HSIL+.International Agency for Research on Cancer

Experimental modulation of capsule size in Cryptococcus neoformans

Experimental modulation of capsule size is an important technique for the study of the virulence of the encapsulated pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. In this paper, we summarize the techniques available for experimental modulation of capsule size in this yeast and describe improved methods to induce capsule size changes. The response of the yeast to the various stimuli is highly dependent on the cryptococcal strain. A high CO(2) atmosphere and a low iron concentration have been used classically to increase capsule size. Unfortunately, these stimuli are not reliable for inducing capsular enlargement in all strains. Recently we have identified new and simpler conditions for inducing capsule enlargement that consistently elicited this effect. Specifically, we noted that mammalian serum or diluted Sabouraud broth in MOPS buffer pH 7.3 efficiently induced capsule growth. Media that slowed the growth rate of the yeast correlated with an increase in capsule size. Finally, we summarize the most commonly used media that induce capsule growth in C. neoformans

Treatment patterns of patients diagnosed with major headache disorders: A retrospective claims analysis

Objective: To describe patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and health care costs among patients diagnosed with major headache disorders overall and by type (tension-type headache [TTH], migraine, cluster headache [CH], or \u3e1 primary headache type), and secondarily to evaluate drug treatment patterns among triptan initiators with a major headache diagnosis. Methods: Using US claims data from January 2012 through December 2017, we identified adults with evidence of a major headache disorder: TTH, migraine, or CH; the first diagnosis date was deemed the index date. To evaluate triptan use specifically, patients who initiated triptans were identified; the first triptan claim date was deemed the index date. Patient characteristics, treatment patterns (concomitant treatments, adherence, number of fills), and annual health care costs data were obtained. Results: Of the 418,779 patients diagnosed with major headache disorders, the following 4 cohorts were created: TTH (8%), migraine (87%), CH (1%), and \u3e1 primary headache type (4%). The majority used analgesic (54–73%) and psychotropic (57–81%) drugs, primarily opioids (36–53%). Headache-related costs accounted for one-fifth of all-cause costs. Of the 229,946 patients who initiated triptans, the following 7 study cohorts were analyzed: sumatriptan (68%), rizatriptan (21%), eletriptan (5%), zolmitriptan (3%), naratriptan (2%), frovatriptan (1%), and almotriptan ( Conclusion: The primary headache disorder treatment paradigm is complex, with significant variability. Predominant concomitant use of opioids and switching to opioids is of concern, necessitating solutions to minimize opioid use. Switching to non-oral/fast-acting or targeted preventive therapies should be considered

Genetic Ancestry–dependent Differences in Breast Cancer–induced Field Defects in the Tumor-adjacent Normal Breast

Purpose: Genetic ancestry influences evolutionary pathways of cancers. However, whether ancestry influences cancer-induced field defects is unknown. The goal of this study was to utilize ancestry-mapped true normal breast tissues as controls to identify cancer-induced field defects in normal tissue adjacent to breast tumors (NATs) in women of African American (AA) and European (EA) ancestry. Experimental Design: A tissue microarray comprising breast tissues of ancestry-mapped 100 age-matched healthy women from the Komen Tissue Bank (KTB) at Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN) and tumor-NAT pairs from 100 women (300 samples total) was analyzed for the levels of ZEB1, an oncogenic transcription factor that is central to cell fate, mature luminal cell–enriched estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), GATA3, FOXA1, and for immune cell composition. Results: ZEB1+ cells, which were localized surrounding the ductal structures of the normal breast, were enriched in the KTB-normal of AA compared with KTB-normal of EA women. In contrast, in EA women, both NATs and tumors compared with KTB-normal contained higher levels of ZEB1+ cells. FOXA1 levels were lower in NATs compared with KTB-normal in AA but not in EA women. We also noted variations in the levels of GATA3, CD8+ T cells, PD1+ immune cells, and PDL1+ cell but not CD68+ macrophages in NATs of AA and EA women. ERα levels did not change in any of our analyses, pointing to the specificity of ancestry-dependent variations. Conclusions: Genetic ancestry–mapped tissues from healthy individuals are required for proper assessment and development of cancer-induced field defects as early cancer detection markers. This finding is significant in light of recent discoveries of influence of genetic ancestry on both normal biology and tumor evolution

Impact of Single Links in Competitive Percolation -- How complex networks grow under competition

How a complex network is connected crucially impacts its dynamics and function. Percolation, the transition to extensive connectedness upon gradual addition of links, was long believed to be continuous but recent numerical evidence on "explosive percolation" suggests that it might as well be discontinuous if links compete for addition. Here we analyze the microscopic mechanisms underlying discontinuous percolation processes and reveal a strong impact of single link additions. We show that in generic competitive percolation processes, including those displaying explosive percolation, single links do not induce a discontinuous gap in the largest cluster size in the thermodynamic limit. Nevertheless, our results highlight that for large finite systems single links may still induce observable gaps because gap sizes scale weakly algebraically with system size. Several essentially macroscopic clusters coexist immediately before the transition, thus announcing discontinuous percolation. These results explain how single links may drastically change macroscopic connectivity in networks where links add competitively.Comment: non-final version, for final see Nature Physics homepag

Allogeneic transplantation provides durable remission in a subset of DLBCL patients relapsing after autologous transplantation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133605/1/bjh14046.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133605/2/bjh14046_am.pd

Influence of Heat Treatment on Defect Structures in Single-Crystalline Blade Roots Studied by X-ray Topography and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Single-crystalline superalloy CMSX-4 is studied in the as-cast state and after heat treatment, with material being taken from turbine blade castings. The effect of the heat treatment on the defect structure of the root area near the selector/root connection is emphasized. Multiscale analysis is performed to correlate results obtained by X-ray topography and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). Electron microscopy observations were also carried out to characterize the inhomogeneity in dendritic structure. The X-ray topography was used to compare defects of the misorientation nature, occurring in as-cast and treated states. The type and concentration of defects before and after heat treatment in different root areas were determined using the PALS method, which enables voids, mono-vacancies, and dislocations to be taken into account. In this way, differences in the concentration of defects caused by heat treatment are rationalized