Factors influencing reductions in smoking among Australian adolescents

© 2016 Harris. A continued increase in the proportion of adolescents who never smoke, as well as an understanding of factors that influence reductions in smoking among this susceptible population, is crucial. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides an appropriate structure to briefly examine Australian and New South Wales policies and programs that are influencing reductions in smoking among adolescents in Australia. This paper provides an overview of price and recent tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, the evolution of smoke-free environment policies, changes to tobacco labelling and packaging, public education campaigns, and restrictions to curb tobacco advertising. It also discusses supplyreduction measures that limit adolescents' access to tobacco products. Consideration is given to emerging priorities to achieve continued declines in smoking by Australian adolescents

Molecular and morphological characterization of Pyricularia and allied genera

The phylogenetic relationships of Pyricularia species and species from related genera were established from sequences of the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal RNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis disclosed a consistent correlation with spore morphology. Most Pyricularia species studied, and two species of Dactylaria that have obpyriform conidia, fell within the Magnaporthaceae cluster with high bootstrap support. Pyricularia variabilis was more related to Dactylaria, Tumularia or Ochroconis species than to the Magnaporthaceae. Dactylaria and species of Nakataea, Ochroconis, Pyriculariopsis and Tumularia were distinct from the Magnaporthaceae, and the genus Dactylaria is polyphyletic. The combination of morphological and molecular characters, such as spore morphology and ITS ribosomal DNA sequences data, suggested that conidial shape could be a primary character to distinguish Pyricularia from related genera.published_or_final_versio

Malaria vaccine efficacy: the difficulty of detecting and diagnosing malaria

New sources of funding have revitalized efforts to control malaria. An effective vaccine would be a tremendous asset in the fight against this devastating disease and increasing financial and scientific resources are being invested to develop one. A few candidates have been tested in Phase I and II clinical trials, and several others are poised to begin trials soon. Some studies have been promising, and others disappointing. It is difficult to compare the results of these clinical trials; even independent trials of the same vaccine give highly discrepant results. One major obstacle in evaluating malaria vaccines is the difficulty of diagnosing clinical malaria. This analysis evaluates the impact of diagnostic error, particularly that introduced by microscopy, on the outcome of efficacy trials of malaria vaccines and make recommendations for improving future trials

Reader technique as a source of variability in determining malaria parasite density by microscopy

BACKGROUND: Accurate identification and quantification of malaria parasites are critical for measuring clinical trial outcomes. Positive and negative diagnosis is usually sufficient for the assessment of therapeutic outcome, but vaccine or prophylactic drug trials require measuring density of infection as a primary endpoint. Microscopy is the most established and widely-used technique for quantifying parasite densities in the blood. METHODS: Results obtained by 24–27 expert malaria microscopists, who had independently read 895 slides from 35 donors, were analysed to understand how reader technique contributes to discrepancy in measurements of parasite density over a wide range of densities. RESULTS: Among these 35 donations, standard deviations ranged from 30% to 250% of the mean parasite density and the percent discrepancy was inversely correlated with the mean parasite density. The number of white blood cells indexed and whether parasites were counted in the thick film or thin film were shown to significantly contribute to discrepancy amongst microscopists. CONCLUSION: Errors in microscopy measurements are not widely appreciated or addressed but have serious consequences for efficacy trials, including possibly abandoning promising vaccine candidates

Influence of inspiratory resistive loading on expiratory muscle fatigue in healthy humans

Expiratory resistive loading elicits inspiratory as well as expiratory muscle fatigue, suggesting parallel co-activation of the inspiratory muscles during expiration. It is unknown whether the expiratorymuscles are similarly co-activated to the point of fatigue during inspiratory resistive loading (IRL).The purpose of this study was to determine whether IRL elicits expiratory as well as inspiratory muscle fatigue. Healthy male subjects (n=9) underwent isocapnic IRL (60% maximal inspiratory pressure, 15 breaths∙min-1, 0.7 inspiratory duty cycle) to task failure. Abdominal and diaphragm contractile function was assessed at baseline and at 3, 15 and 30 min post-IRL by measuring gastric twitch pressure (Pga,tw) and transdiaphragmatic twitch pressure (Pdi,tw) in response to potentiated magnetic stimulation of the thoracic and phrenic nerves, respectively. Fatigue was defined as a significant reduction from baseline in Pga,tw or Pdi,tw. Throughout IRL, there was a time-dependent increase in cardiac frequency and mean arterial blood pressure, suggesting activation of the respiratory muscle metaboreflex. Pdi,tw was significantly lower than baseline (34.3 9.6 cmH2O) at 3min (23.2 5.7 cmH2O, P<0.001), 15 min (24.2 5.1 cmH2O, P<0.001) and 30 min post-IRL (26.3 6.0 cmH2O, P<0.001). Pga,tw was not significantly different from baseline (37.6 17.1 cmH2O) at 3min (36.5 14.6 cmH2O), 15 min (33.7 12.4 cmH2O) and 30 min post-IRL (32.9 11.3 cmH2O). IRL elicits objective evidence of diaphragm, but not abdominal, muscle fatigue. Agonist-antagonist interactions for the respiratory muscles appear to be more important during expiratory versus inspiratory loading.The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada supported this study. C.M. Peters, P.B. Dominelli, and Y. Molgat-Seon were supported by NSERC postgraduate scholarships. J.F Welch was supported by a University of British Columbia graduate fellowship

Using “Omics” and Integrated Multi-Omics Approaches to Guide Probiotic Selection to Mitigate Chytridiomycosis and Other Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife are responsible for massive population declines. In amphibians, chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd, has severely affected many amphibian populations and species around the world. One promising management strategy is probiotic bioaugmentation of antifungal bacteria on amphibian skin. In vivo experimental trials using bioaugmentation strategies have had mixed results, and therefore a more informed strategy is needed to select successful probiotic candidates. Metagenomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic methods, colloquially called “omics,” are approaches that can better inform probiotic selection and optimize selection protocols. The integration of multiple omic data using bioinformatic and statistical tools and in silico models that link bacterial community structure with bacterial defensive function can allow the identification of species involved in pathogen inhibition. We recommend using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and methods such as indicator species analysis, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov Measure, and co-occurrence networks to identify bacteria that are associated with pathogen resistance in field surveys and experimental trials. In addition to 16S amplicon sequencing, we recommend approaches that give insight into symbiont function such as shotgun metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, or metabolomics to maximize the probability of finding effective probiotic candidates, which can then be isolated in culture and tested in persistence and clinical trials. An effective mitigation strategy to ameliorate chytridiomycosis and other emerging infectious diseases is necessary; the advancement of omic methods and the integration of multiple omic data provide a promising avenue toward conservation of imperiled species

Stress fracture of bilateral tibial metaphysis due to ceremonial march training: a case report

Stress fractures are caused by repetitive microtraumas that occur during unusual or increased activities. Clinical suspicion is essential for the diagnosis. A twenty-years old soldier was presented with bilateral knee pain and restriction of knee movements after a period of training for ceremonial march. Although plain X-rays were normal, scintigraphy and MRI revealed stress fractures at metaphyseal region of both tibias. History of a patient presenting with persisting joint or bone pain after an unusual repetitive activity should be delicately inquired. Typical history, although pain might be localized to unusual sites, should raise the suspicion of a stress fracture

Interviewer BMI effects on under- and over-reporting of restrained eating: evidence from a national Dutch face-to-face survey and a postal follow-up

Contains fulltext : 102650pub.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Objectives To determine the effect of interviewer BMI on self-reported restrained eating in a face-to-face survey and to examine under- and over-reporting using the face-to face study and a postal follow-up. Methods A sample of 1,212 Dutch adults was assigned to 98 interviewers with different BMI who administered an eating questionnaire. To further evaluate misreporting a mail follow-up was conducted among 504 participants. Data were analyzed using two-level hierarchical models. Results Interviewer BMI had a positive effect on restrained eating. Normal weight and pre-obese interviewers obtained valid responses, underweight interviewers stimulated underreporting whereas obese interviewers triggered overreporting. Conclusion In face-to-face interviews self-reported dietary restraint is distorted by interviewer BMI. This result has implications for public health surveys, the more so given the expanding obesity epidemic.5 p

Novel insights into host-fungal pathogen interactions derived from live-cell imaging

Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge funding from the Wellcome Trust (080088, 086827, 075470 and 099215) including a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377 and FP7-2007–2013 grant agreement HEALTH-F2-2010-260338–ALLFUN to NARG.Peer reviewedPublisher PD