AIDS patients have increased surfactant protein D but normal mannose binding lectin levels in lung fluid.

BACKGROUND: Surfactant protein D (SP-D) and Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL) are collectins that have opsonic and immunoregulatory functions, are found in lung fluid and interact with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We compared collectin levels in lung fluid and serum from HIV infected and normal subjects to determine if alterations in lung collectin levels were associated with HIV infection and might result in increased susceptibility to other pulmonary infections. METHODS: Blood and bronchoalveolar lavage samples were collected from 19 HIV-infected individuals and 17 HIV-uninfected individuals, all with normal chest X ray at time of study. HIV viral loads and peripheral blood CD4+ T cell counts were measured in all subjects. SP-D was measured in lung fluid, and MBL in both lung fluid and serum. RESULTS: SP-D levels were not significantly different in lung fluid from HIV-uninfected (median 406.72 ng/ml) and HIV-infected individuals with high CD4 count (CD4 >200) (median 382.60 ng/ml) but were elevated in HIV-infected individuals with low CD4 count (median 577.79 ng/ml; Kruskall Wallis p < 0.05). MBL levels in serum were not significantly different between HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected individuals (median 1782.70 ng/ml vs 2639.73 ng/ml) and were not detectable in lung fluid. CONCLUSION: SP-D levels are increased in lung fluid from AIDS patients but not in patients with early HIV infection. MBL levels are not altered by HIV infection or AIDS. There is no evidence that altered pulmonary collectin levels result in susceptibility to infection in these patients

Faculty Recital:Ed Livingston and Don Peterson

Capen Auditorium May 5, 1969 8:15p.m

Comparison of Binax NOW urine antigen test and pneumococcal DNA assay using qPCR before and after nasopharyngeal swabbing in healthy Malawian children.

Diagnosis of invasive pneumococcal disease is challenging. We compared Binax NOW pneumococcal urinary antigen test with blood pneumococcal PCR in healthy Malawian children with and without pneumococcal carriage, and we found a high false-positive rate with Binax NOW. Blood pneumococcal PCR positivity was 66/88 (75%) compared to 5/27 (18%) when nasopharyngeal swabbing was performed first compared to after blood sampling for pneumococcal blood PCR. We speculate that nasopharyngeal swabbing may be causing a breach of mucosal integrity, leading to invasion into the bloodstream. These findings need to be confirmed with autolysin-based PCR assays

Can cash transfer interventions increase contraceptive use and reduce adolescent birth and pregnancy in low and middle income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Becoming pregnant and giving birth under the age of 20 is associated with a range of adverse social, socioeconomic and health outcomes for adolescent girls and their children in Low and middle income countries. Cash transfers are an example of a structural intervention that can change the local social and economic environment, and have been linked with positive health and social outcomes across several domains. As part of a wider review of structural adolescent contraception interventions, we conducted a systematic review on the impact of cash transfers on adolescent contraception and fertility. Fifteen studies were included in the review with eleven studies providing evidence for meta-analyses on contraception use, pregnancy and childbearing. The evidence suggests that cash transfer interventions are generally ineffective in raising levels of contraceptive use. However, cash transfer interventions did reduce levels of early pregnancy (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.00). There was suggestive evidence that conditional, but not unconditional, cash transfers reduce levels of early childbearing. Given that much of the evidence is drawn from interventions providing cash transfers conditional on school attendance, supporting school attendance may enable adolescent girls and young women to make life choices that do not involve early pregnancy

The UK needs an open data portal dedicated to coastal flood and erosion hazard risk and resilience

In the UK, coastal flooding and erosion are two of the primary climate-related hazards to communities, businesses, and infrastructure. To better address the ramifications of those hazards, now and into the future, the UK needs to transform its scattered, fragmented coastal data resources into a systematic, integrated portal for quality-assured, publicly accessible open data. Such a portal would support analyses of coastal risk and resilience by hosting, in addition to data layers for coastal flooding and erosion, a diverse array of spatial datasets for building footprints, infrastructure networks, land use, population, and various socio-economic measures and indicators derived from survey and census data. The portal would facilitate novel combinations of spatial data layers to yield scientifically, societally, and economically beneficial insights into UK coastal systems

Predictors of positive outcomes from ‘Early Intervention in Psychosis’: protocol for a national retrospective cohort study

BackgroundPsychotic disorders are severe and prevalent mental health conditions associated with long-term disability, reduced quality of life, and substantial economic costs. Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services aim to provide timely and comprehensive treatment for psychotic disorders, and EIP service input is associated with improved outcomes. However, there is limited understanding of the specific components of EIP care that contribute to these improvements. There is significant nationwide variability in the commissioning and delivery of EIP, with individuals receiving different packages of components from different services. In this study, we seek to explore associations between EIP components and clinically significant outcomes, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying improved psychosis care.MethodsThis national retrospective cohort study will utilize data from the 2019 National Clinical Audit of Psychosis (NCAP), examining the care received by 10,560 individuals treated by EIP services in England. Exposure data from the NCAP, capturing the components of care delivered by EIP services, will be linked with outcome data from routine NHS Digital datasets over a three-year follow-up period. This will be the first study to use this method to examine this population in England. The primary outcomes will be surrogate measures of relapse of psychosis (hospital admission and referral to community-based crisis intervention services). Secondary outcomes include duration of admissions, emergency hospital attendances, episodes of detention under the Mental Health Act, and all-cause mortality. We will use multilevel regression to examine associations between exposures and outcome events. We will handle missing data using appropriate imputation techniques.DiscussionThis study aims to provide valuable insights into the long-term effects of variations in EIP service delivery. The study involves a large, diverse cohort including individuals treated by every EIP service in England. While there are limitations inherent in the observational nature of the study, any associations identified will be of great relevance to clinicians, researchers, and policymakers seeking to optimize EIP care. The results will enable more targeted treatment planning, resource allocation, and potential innovations in EIP care, ultimately leading to improved prognoses for people experiencing psychosis

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Imaging of Low Galactic Latitude Fields: Technical Summary and Data Release

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) mosaic camera and telescope have obtained five-band optical-wavelength imaging near the Galactic plane outside of the nominal survey boundaries. These additional data were obtained during commissioning and subsequent testing of the SDSS observing system, and they provide unique wide-area imaging data in regions of high obscuration and star formation, including numerous young stellar objects, Herbig-Haro objects and young star clusters. Because these data are outside the Survey regions in the Galactic caps, they are not part of the standard SDSS data releases. This paper presents imaging data for 832 square degrees of sky (including repeats), in the star-forming regions of Orion, Taurus, and Cygnus. About 470 square degrees are now released to the public, with the remainder to follow at the time of SDSS Data Release 4. The public data in Orion include the star-forming region NGC 2068/NGC 2071/HH24 and a large part of Barnard's loop.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures (3 missing to save space), accepted by AJ, in press, see http://photo.astro.princeton.edu/oriondatarelease for data and paper with all figure

Health-Promoting and Health-Risk Behaviors: Theory-Driven Analyses of Multiple Health Behavior Change in Three International Samples

Background: Co-occurrence of different behaviors was investigated using the theoretical underpinnings of the Transtheoretical Model, the Theory of Triadic Influence and the concept of Transfer. Purpose: To investigate relationships between different health behaviors' stages of change, how behaviors group, and whether study participants cluster in terms of their behaviors. Method: Relationships across stages for different behaviors were assessed in three studies with N = 3,519, 965, and 310 individuals from the USA and Germany by telephone and internet surveys using correlational analyses, factor analyses, and cluster analyses. Results: Consistently stronger correlations were found between nutrition and physical activity (r = 0.16-0.26, p < 0.01) than between non-smoking and nutrition (r = 0.08-0.16, p < 0.03), or non-smoking and physical activity (r = 0.01-0.21). Principal component analyses of investigated behaviors indicated two factors: a "health-promoting" factor and a "health-risk" factor. Three distinct behavioral patterns were found in the cluster analyses. Conclusion: Our results support the assumption that individuals who are in a higher stage for one behavior are more likely to be in a higher stage for another behavior as well. If the aim is to improve a healthy lifestyle, success in one behavior can be used to facilitate changes in other behaviors--especially if the two behaviors are both health-promoting or health-risky. Moreover, interventions should be targeted towards the different behavioral patterns rather than to single behaviors. This might be achieved by addressing transfer between behaviors