HIV/STI Risk Factors Among African-American Students Attending Predominantly White Universities

Introduction: The majority of African American college students in the U.S. attend predominantly white institutions (PWIs). However, there is minimal research examining this population’s HIV/STI risk behaviors. The purpose of this investigation was to assess HIV/STI behavioral risk factors among African American college students (aged 18 – 24years) attending PWIs. (n = 2,568) Methods: Backwards step-wise logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with a positive HIV/STI diagnosis (past year) among sexually active African American college students who participated in the Spring, 2006 National College Health Assessment. Findings: Nine factors were significantly associated with an HIV/STI diagnosis among African American college students attending PWIs. Different risk factors were associated with having a HIV/STI diagnosis among African American male and female college students. These results may be useful to HIV/STIs prevention programs targeting African American college students attending PWIs

Structural barriers to health care access and IPV disclosure in first-generation Latina immigrants

Background: This study aimed to describe the unique structural barriers faced by Latina women in rural areas of Virginia as they attempt to access the health care system, and, once they have gained access, to identify barriers to intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosure. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth individual interviews with first-generation Latina immigrants were conducted after initial purposeful convenience sampling and concomitant snowball recruiting. A thematic content analysis using a phenomenological approach was employed to interpret participants\u27 experiences. Initial findings were validated through additional interviews. Results: The overarching theme expressed by these women was their search for dignity. Emergent sub-themes related to health care barriers and reluctance to disclose IPV included: no confianza, having a voice, being marginalized, and navigating a dysfunctional system. Discussion: Initial encounters with the health care system that led participants to feel disrespected interfered with care access and a sense of safety in answering intimate questions, especially concerning safety. The dysfunctional and disjointed health care system also creates unintended barriers to access and continuity of care. Conclusion and Recommendations: The experiences of barriers encountered by the women in our study suggests that reported discrepancies in IPV disclosure rates may be related to their level of perceived safety when being screened. In an effort to provide more accessible, safe and relevant care, an equity-informed approach such as trauma and violence informed care should be implemented within health care organizations to help provide more satisfying, safe and comprehensive care to immigrant populations

Effects of serum and insulin-like growth factors on human neuroblastoma cell growth

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) are mitogenic polypeptides expressed in both developing and adult tissues. To examine the effects of IGFs on neuronal growth, we used SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells as an in vitro model of nervous system development. In the current study, we found that either IGF-I (0.1 to 10 nM), insulin (0.1 to 5 [mu]g/ml) or calf serum (0.1 to 3%) increased SH-SY5Y proliferation over a 3 day period in a dose dependent manner. In each case, treatment with anti-IGF-I receptor antibodies blocked cell proliferation. IGF-II mRNA levels correlated with SH-SY5Y cell density; subconfluent cells expressed high levels of IGF-II mRNA while low levels of IGF-II mRNA were present in confluent cells. Similarly, serum deprivation increased IGF-I receptor mRNA by 4-fold. Collectively, these results support the concept that an IGF/IGF-I receptor system at least partially mediates SH-SY5Y cell proliferation and suggests the importance of IGFs in regulating neuronal growth.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30511/1/0000141.pd

P for Politics D for Dialogue: Reflections on Participatory Design with Children and Animals

Participatory Design strives to open up the decision-making process and empower all those who may be affected by design. This is opposed to Design as a non-participatory process, in which the power to make decisions is vested in the hands of one group to the possible detriment of others. In this paper we interrogate the nature, possibilities and limitations of Participatory Design through the perspective of Child Computer Interaction (CCI) and Animal Computer Interaction (ACI). Due to the cognitive and communication characteristics, and to the social and legal status of their participants, researchers in these communities have to contend with and challenge existing notions of participation and design. Thus, their theories and practices provide a lens through which the nature and goals of Participatory Design can be examined with a view to facilitating the development of more inclusive participatory models and practices

Statistical Learning Methods to Identify Nonwear Periods From Accelerometer Data

Background: Accelerometers are used to objectively measure movement in free-living individuals. Distinguishing nonwear from sleep and sedentary behavior is important to derive accurate measures of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep. We applied statistical learning approaches to examine their promise in detecting nonwear time and compared the results with commonly used wear time (WT) algorithms. Methods: Fifteen children, aged 4–17, wore an ActiGraph wGT3X- BT monitor on their hip during overnight polysomnography. We applied Hidden Markov Models (HMM) and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) to classify states of nonwear and wear in triaxial acceleration data. Performance of methods was compared with WT algorithms across two conditions with differing amounts of consecutive nonwear. Clinical scoring of polysomnography served as the gold standard. Results: When the length of nonwear was less than or equal to WT algorithms’ predefined thresholds for consecutive nonwear time, GMM methods yielded improved classification error, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value over commonly used algorithms. HMM was superior to one algorithm for sensitivity and negative predictive value. When the length of nonwear was longer, results were mixed, with the commonly used algorithms performing better on some parameters but GMM with the greatest specificity. However, all approached the upper limits of performance for almost all metrics. Conclusions: GMM and HMM demonstrated robust, consistently strong performance across multiple conditions, surpassing or remaining competitive with commonly used WT algorithms which had marked inaccuracy when nonwear time periods were shorter. Of the two statistical learning algorithms, GMM was superior to HMM

Cognitive and social functioning deficits after anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: an exploratory case series

Background: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a recently described life-threatening autoimmune disorder associated with a characteristic multi-stage neuropsychiatric syndrome. Although it is known that the majority of patients experience neuropsychological disturbance post-treatment, some aspects of the cognitive profile remain unclear. Methods: This study sought to investigate patterns of cognitive functioning in a sample of anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients. Seven (6F:1M; mean age, 26.4 years; range, 16-37 years) treated patients completed a comprehensive set of neurocognitive and social functioning measures. Performance was analyzed using normative data (where available), and comparison with matched controls (10F:4M; mean age, 25.8 years; range, 16-38 years). Results: Individual cognitive profiles ranged from within normal limits to extensive dysfunction. Relative to controls, the patient group's performance was affected in the domains of verbal/ visual memory, working memory, attention, processing speed, executive functioning, and social cognition. The patient group also reported significantly higher levels of anxiety compared to controls. Conclusions: These results add to the accumulating evidence that neurocognitive deficits, consistent with the distribution and functions of the NMDAR system can persist during recovery from anti-NMDAR encephalitis. This is the first study to provide evidence of performance decrements on measures of social cognition, including some involving theory of mind

Outcomes in patients with gunshot wounds to the brain.

Introduction:Gunshot wounds to the brain (GSWB) confer high lethality and uncertain recovery. It is unclear which patients benefit from aggressive resuscitation, and furthermore whether patients with GSWB undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have potential for survival or organ donation. Therefore, we sought to determine the rates of survival and organ donation, as well as identify factors associated with both outcomes in patients with GSWB undergoing CPR. Methods:We performed a retrospective, multicenter study at 25 US trauma centers including dates between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017. Patients were included if they suffered isolated GSWB and required CPR at a referring hospital, in the field, or in the trauma resuscitation room. Patients were excluded for significant torso or extremity injuries, or if pregnant. Binomial regression models were used to determine predictors of survival/organ donation. Results:825 patients met study criteria; the majority were male (87.6%) with a mean age of 36.5 years. Most (67%) underwent CPR in the field and 2.1% (n=17) survived to discharge. Of the non-survivors, 17.5% (n=141) were considered eligible donors, with a donation rate of 58.9% (n=83) in this group. Regression models found several predictors of survival. Hormone replacement was predictive of both survival and organ donation. Conclusion:We found that GSWB requiring CPR during trauma resuscitation was associated with a 2.1% survival rate and overall organ donation rate of 10.3%. Several factors appear to be favorably associated with survival, although predictions are uncertain due to the low number of survivors in this patient population. Hormone replacement was predictive of both survival and organ donation. These results are a starting point for determining appropriate treatment algorithms for this devastating clinical condition. Level of evidence:Level II

Identification of developmental and behavioral markers associated with genetic abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ObjectiveAside from features associated with risk of neurogenetic syndromes in general (e.g., cognitive impairment), limited progress has been made in identifying phenotype-genotype relationships in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The objective of this study was to extend work in the Simons Simplex Collection by comparing the phenotypic profiles of ASD probands with or without identified de novo loss of function mutations or copy number variants in high-confidence ASD-associated genes or loci.MethodAnalyses preemptively accounted for documented differences in sex and IQ in affected individuals with de novo mutations by matching probands with and without these genetic events on sex, IQ, and age before comparing them on multiple behavioral domains.ResultsChildren with de novo mutations (N=112) had a greater likelihood of motor delay during early development (later age at walking), but they were less impaired on certain measures of ASD core symptoms (parent-rated social communication abnormalities and clinician-rated diagnostic certainty about ASD) in later childhood. These children also showed relative strengths in verbal and language abilities, including a smaller discrepancy between nonverbal and verbal IQ and a greater likelihood of having achieved fluent language (i.e., regular use of complex sentences).ConclusionsChildren with ASD with de novo mutations may exhibit a "muted" symptom profile with respect to social communication and language deficits relative to those with ASD with no identified genetic abnormalities. Such findings suggest that examining early milestone differences and standardized testing results may be helpful in etiologic efforts, and potentially in clinical differentiation of various subtypes of ASD, but only if developmental and demographic variables are properly accounted for first

A high-resolution map of human evolutionary constraint using 29 mammals.

The comparison of related genomes has emerged as a powerful lens for genome interpretation. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of 29 eutherian genomes. We confirm that at least 5.5% of the human genome has undergone purifying selection, and locate constrained elements covering ∼4.2% of the genome. We use evolutionary signatures and comparisons with experimental data sets to suggest candidate functions for ∼60% of constrained bases. These elements reveal a small number of new coding exons, candidate stop codon readthrough events and over 10,000 regions of overlapping synonymous constraint within protein-coding exons. We find 220 candidate RNA structural families, and nearly a million elements overlapping potential promoter, enhancer and insulator regions. We report specific amino acid residues that have undergone positive selection, 280,000 non-coding elements exapted from mobile elements and more than 1,000 primate- and human-accelerated elements. Overlap with disease-associated variants indicates that our findings will be relevant for studies of human biology, health and disease

Dietary patterns and associations with body mass index in low-income, ethnic minority youth in the United States according to baseline data from four randomized controlled trials

Few studies have derived data-driven dietary patterns in youth in the United States (US). This study examined data-driven dietary patterns and their associations with BMI measures in predominantly low-income, racial/ethnic minority US youth. Data were from baseline assessments of the four Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) Consortium trials: NET-Works (N=534; 2–4-year-olds), GROW (N=610; 3–5-year-olds), GOALS (N=241; 7–11-year-olds), and IMPACT (N=360; 10–13-year-olds). Weight and height were measured. Children/adult proxies completed 3 24-hour dietary recalls. Dietary patterns were derived for each site from 24 food/beverage groups using k-means cluster analysis. Multivariable linear regression models examined associations of dietary patterns with BMI and percentage of the 95th BMI percentile. Healthy (produce and whole grains) and Unhealthy (fried food, savory snacks, and desserts) patterns were found in NET-Works and GROW. GROW additionally had a dairy and sugar-sweetened beverage based pattern. GOALS had a similar Healthy pattern and a pattern resembling a traditional Mexican diet. Associations between dietary patterns and BMI were only observed in IMPACT. In IMPACT, youth in the Sandwich (cold cuts, refined grains, cheese, and miscellaneous [e.g., condiments]) compared to Mixed (whole grains and desserts) cluster had significantly higher BMI [β=0.99 (95% CI: 0.01, 1.97)] and percentage of the 95th BMI percentile [β=4.17 (95% CI: 0.11, 8.24)]. Healthy and Unhealthy patterns were the most common dietary patterns in COPTR youth, but diets may differ according to age, race/ethnicity, or geographic location. Public health messages focused on healthy dietary substitutions may help youth mimic a dietary pattern associated with lower BMI