Vaccinating sons against HPV: results from a U.S. national survey of parents

PURPOSE: The quadrivalent HPV vaccination was approved for use in males ages 9 to 26 in 2009 and recommended for routine administration in 2011. The purpose of this study was to uncover predictable commonalities amongst parents who chose to vaccinate their 11-17 year old sons against HPV. METHODS: We compiled data from a U.S. national sample of 779 parents with sons 11-17 years old using a web-based survey to gather information about behavioral and sociodemographic factors which predicted receipt of 1 or more HPV vaccine doses based on parental report. Predictors were first modeled individually for univariable associations. Significant predictors (p<0.10) were combined in a multivariable model. RESULTS: In the adjusted model, independent predictors included receipt of flu vaccination, health insurance coverage and sexual health topic discussions with sons. Sons who had received a flu shot in the last two years more frequently received at least one dose of the vaccine (OR 1.82; 95% CI 1.45-2.26). Sons covered by private health insurance had decreased odds of HPV vaccination (OR 0.56 95% CI 0.37-0.83). Lastly, parents who had discussed sexual health topics with their sons were more likely to vaccinate (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.37-1.89). CONCLUSIONS: Male vaccination rates in the U.S. have increased, but males continue to be under-immunized. Utilization of health care is an important factor in HPV vaccine uptake; therefore, health care providers should use every contact as an opportunity to vaccinate. Communication about sexual health topics may provide a forum for parents and health care providers to have conversations about HPV vaccination as those more comfortable discussing these topics may also be more comfortable discussing HPV vaccination

Design, assessment, and in vivo evaluation of a computational model illustrating the role of CAV1 in CD4+ T-lymphocytes

Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is a vital scaffold protein heterogeneously expressed in both healthy and malignant tissue. We focus on the role of CAV1 when overexpressed in T-cell leukemia. Previously, we have shown that CAV1 is involved in cell-to-cell communication, cellular proliferation, and immune synapse formation; however, the molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. We hypothesize that the role of CAV1 in immune synapse formation contributes to immune regulation during leukemic progression, thereby warranting studies of the role of CAV1 in CD4+ T-cells in relation to antigen-presenting cells. To address this need, we developed a computational model of a CD4+ immune effector T-cell to mimic cellular dynamics and molecular signaling under healthy and immunocompromised conditions (i.e., leukemic conditions). Using the Cell Collective computational modeling software, the CD4+ T-cell model was constructed and simulated under CAV1+/+, CAV1+/−, and CAV1−/− conditions to produce a hypothetical immune response. This model allowed us to predict and examine the heterogeneous effects and mechanisms of CAV1 in silico. Experimental results indicate a signature of molecules involved in cellular proliferation, cell survival, and cytoskeletal rearrangement that were highly affected by CAV1 knock out. With this comprehensive model of a CD4+ T-cell, we then validated in vivo protein expression levels. Based on this study, we modeled a CD4+ T-cell, manipulated gene expression in immunocompromised versus competent settings, validated these manipulations in an in vivo murine model, and corroborated acute T-cell leukemia gene expression profiles in human beings. Moreover, we can model an immunocompetent versus an immunocompromised microenvironment to better understand how signaling is regulated in patients with leukemia

Monte Carlo study of the Widom-Rowlinson fluid using cluster methods

The Widom-Rowlinson model of a fluid mixture is studied using a new cluster algorithm that is a generalization of the invaded cluster algorithm previously applied to Potts models. Our estimate of the critical exponents for the two-component fluid are consistent with the Ising universality class in two and three dimensions. We also present results for the three-component fluid.Comment: 13 pages RevTex and 2 Postscript figure

Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.

Some children who are at highrisk for health-compromising behaviors successfully negotiate adolescence, avoiding the behaviors that predispose them to negative health outcomes; while others, relatively advantaged socially and economically, sustain significant morbidity as a consequence of their behaviors. These issues of vulnerability and resilience have stimulated an interest in the identification of protective factors in the lives of young people—factors that,if present, diminish the likelihood of negative health and social outcomes.20"26 Of the constellation of forces that influence adolescent health-risk behavior, the most fundamental are the social contexts in which adolescents are embed¬ded20;the family and school contexts are among the most critical. Yet, how adolescents' connections to these contexts shape their health-risk behaviors is poorly understood

Statistical Analyses Support Power Law Distributions Found in Neuronal Avalanches

The size distribution of neuronal avalanches in cortical networks has been reported to follow a power law distribution with exponent close to −1.5, which is a reflection of long-range spatial correlations in spontaneous neuronal activity. However, identifying power law scaling in empirical data can be difficult and sometimes controversial. In the present study, we tested the power law hypothesis for neuronal avalanches by using more stringent statistical analyses. In particular, we performed the following steps: (i) analysis of finite-size scaling to identify scale-free dynamics in neuronal avalanches, (ii) model parameter estimation to determine the specific exponent of the power law, and (iii) comparison of the power law to alternative model distributions. Consistent with critical state dynamics, avalanche size distributions exhibited robust scaling behavior in which the maximum avalanche size was limited only by the spatial extent of sampling (“finite size” effect). This scale-free dynamics suggests the power law as a model for the distribution of avalanche sizes. Using both the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic and a maximum likelihood approach, we found the slope to be close to −1.5, which is in line with previous reports. Finally, the power law model for neuronal avalanches was compared to the exponential and to various heavy-tail distributions based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov distance and by using a log-likelihood ratio test. Both the power law distribution without and with exponential cut-off provided significantly better fits to the cluster size distributions in neuronal avalanches than the exponential, the lognormal and the gamma distribution. In summary, our findings strongly support the power law scaling in neuronal avalanches, providing further evidence for critical state dynamics in superficial layers of cortex

Knowledge politics and new converging technologies: a social epistemological perspective

The “new converging technologies” refers to the prospect of advancing the human condition by the integrated study and application of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and the cognitive sciences - or “NBIC”. In recent years, it has loomed large, albeit with somewhat different emphases, in national science policy agendas throughout the world. This article considers the political and intellectual sources - both historical and contemporary - of the converging technologies agenda. Underlying it is a fluid conception of humanity that is captured by the ethically challenging notion of “enhancing evolution”

Interaction of cylindrical polymer brushes in dilute and semi-dilute solution

We present a systematic study of flexible cylindrical brush-shaped macromolecules in a good solvent by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), static light scattering (SLS), and by dynamic light scattering (DLS) in dilute and semi-dilute solution. The SLS and SANS data extrapolated to infinite dilution lead to the shape of the polymer that can be modeled in terms of a worm-like chain with a contour length of 380 nm and a persistence length of 17.5 nm. SANS data taken at higher polymer concentration were evaluated by using the polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM). We find that the persistence length reduce from 17.5 nm at infinite dilution to 5.3 nm at the highest concentration (volume fraction 0.038). This is comparable with the decrease of the persistence length in semi-dilute concentration predicted theoretically for polyelectrolytes. This finding reveals a softening of stiffness of the polymer brushes caused by their mutual interaction

Frustrated hierarchical synchronization and emergent complexity in the human connectome network

The spontaneous emergence of coherent behavior through synchronization plays a key role in neural function, and its anomalies often lie at the basis of pathologies. Here we employ a parsimonious (mesoscopic) approach to study analytically and computationally the synchronization (Kuramoto) dynamics on the actual human-brain connectome network. We elucidate the existence of a so-far-uncovered intermediate phase, placed between the standard synchronous and asynchronous phases, i.e. between order and disorder. This novel phase stems from the hierarchical modular organization of the connectome. Where one would expect a hierarchical synchronization process, we show that the interplay between structural bottlenecks and quenched intrinsic frequency heterogeneities at many different scales, gives rise to frustrated synchronization, metastability, and chimera-like states, resulting in a very rich and complex phenomenology. We uncover the origin of the dynamic freezing behind these features by using spectral graph theory and discuss how the emerging complex synchronization patterns relate to the need for the brain to access –in a robust though flexible way– a large variety of functional attractors and dynamical repertoires without ad hoc fine-tuning to a critical pointWe acknowledge financial support from J. de Andalucía, grant P09-FQM-4682 and we thank O. Sporns for providing us access to the human connectome data

Association of Methylentetraydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) 677 C > T gene polymorphism and homocysteine levels in psoriasis vulgaris patients from Malaysia: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme catalyzes the reduction of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and methyl donors. The methyl donors are required for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Mutation of MTHFR 677 C > T disrupts its thermostability therefore leads to defective enzyme activities and dysregulation of homocysteine levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This case-control study (n = 367) was conducted to investigate the correlation of the MTHFR gene polymorphism [NM_005957] and psoriasis vulgaris amongst the Malaysian population. Overnight fasting blood samples were collected from a subgroup of consented psoriasis vulgaris patients and matched controls (n = 84) for the quantification of homocysteine, vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no significant increase of the MTHFR 677 C > T mutation in patients with psoriasis vulgaris compared with controls (<it>χ</it>²= 0.733, p = 0.392). No significant association between homocysteine levels and MTHFR gene polymorphism in cases and controls were observed (F = 0.91, df = 3, 80, p = 0.44). However, homocysteine levels in cases were negatively correlated with vitamin B₁₂(r = -0.173) and folic acid (r = -0.345) levels. Vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels in cases were also negatively correlated (r = -0.164).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that there was no significant association between the MTHFR gene polymorphism and psoriasis vulgaris in the Malaysian population. There was no significant increase of the plasma homocysteine level in the psoriasis patients compared to the controls.</p

Frequency of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in cervical intraepithelial lesions and the status of cytological p16/Ki-67 dual-staining

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is not a disease subject to mandatory reporting in Brazil, and the prevalence rate of this genital infection varies according to the region in which studies are conducted, as well as by the detection technique employed. Ct has been associated with persistence of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the facilitation of cervical carcinoma development. We evaluated the Chlamydia trachomatis infection and its association with cytology, p16/Ki-67 dual-stained cytology and cervical intraepithelial lesions status in a screening cohort in Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 1481 cervical samples from asymptomatic women aged 18 to 64. Samples were collected for liquid-based cytology and Ct detection by polymerase chain reaction. p16/Ki-67 double staining was performed on samples with abnormal cytology. Statistical analysis was by chi-square and likelihood-ratio tests. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were determined. Results: The frequency of Ct was 15.6% and its presence was not associated with detection of p16/Ki-67 [OR = 1. 35 (0.5-3.4)]. There was also no association between abnormal cervical cytology and Ct-positivity [OR = 1.21 (0.46-3.2)]. Associations were observed between p16/Ki-67 and high-grade lesions detected by cytology and in biopsies [OR = 3.55 (1.50-8.42) and OR = 19.00 (0.6-7.2), respectively]. Conclusions: The asymptomatic women in our study had a high frequency of Ct infection but this was not associated with p16/Ki-67 detection in samples with abnormal cytology. The expression of p16/Ki-67 was highest in women with high-grade CIN (p = 0.003).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio