Are residents of Seattle ready for ‘the Big One? An intervention study to change earthquake preparedness

Background: Community preparedness for natural hazards remains poor across cultures. In addition, evaluated intervention studies in natural hazard preparedness are scarce and contain methodological problems. This study presents results of an intervention study on earthquake preparedness conducted in Seattle, U.S.A. Methodology: This is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal, community intervention with a pretest-posttest design, focused on improving earthquake readiness at the household level. The sample included 157 adult residents of Seattle. Preparedness measures were assessed at baseline, one week after the intervention, and at three and 12 months after the intervention. This involved both of the groups in a survey and an observation of preparedness levels in their homes. The primary outcome measure was an observational tool of five preparedness items, which was implemented alongside a survey that measured psychological, social, demographic and self-reported preparedness variables. In addition, the intervention group completed a six-hour workshop on earthquake preparedness, divided over two days. The control group did not participate in the workshop. Results: The intervention group significantly improved their earthquake preparedness levels compared to baseline and to controls one week after the intervention. Nonetheless, the effect of the intervention faded at the 3-month followup, where no significant differences in earthquake preparedness were observed in the intervention group compared to baseline. In fact, preparedness appeared to increase for controls at three months compared to baseline and to one week after the intervention, and although not reaching statistical significance, it exceeded the intervention group’s preparedness levels. Anxiety and trust predicted earthquake preparedness for the control group at three months. Discussion: Despite levels of earthquake preparedness improving significantly for the intervention group right after the intervention, this effect disappeared at the 3 month follow-up, stressing the need for the field to develop measures to facilitate the maintenance of behaviour change over time. Interestingly, controls continued to improve their levels of preparedness, suggesting that the home assessments themselves might have acted as an intervention that was sufficiently powerful to trigger behaviour change in controls. Contrary to the emphasis on self-efficacy and other cognitive variables in the literature concerning natural hazard preparedness, these results suggest that emotions such as anxiety and trust might play a more important role in preparedness. Future preparedness interventions should put emotive factors centre stage in targeting preparedness. The findings of this study have implications for national and international policies on the design and delivery of community interventions to increase hazard preparedness in lay people

Sperm Hyperactivation and Capacitation Induced By Light Stimuli in Cryopreserved Semen

In mammals, such as rabbits, there are some factors involved in possible fertilization, from complex changes in the membrane of the sperm to obstruction or non-existent of vas deferens, which creates problems in the number and quality of sperm. In this work, we report the effects of rabbit sperm motility and capacitation of cryopreserved semen samples under light stimuli. The sperm velocities were correlated with the percentage of capacitated and non-capacitated sperm seen with a fluorescent dye. Consequently, we analyzed the specific correlations between irradiation times, supplied energy, and fertility parameters. KEYWORDS THAT SEARCHED RELATED TO THE ARTICLE ON THE WEB sperm meaning, capacitation, human sperm, capacitation occurs in, what is sperm, capacitation of sperm, sperm lifetime, fertilization definition, fertilization meaning, capacitation meaning, mechanism of fertilization,sperm capacitation, capacitate meaning, fertilization takes place in, capacitate, capacitation of sperm occurs in, capacitation of sperms, capacitated, definition of fertilizatio

Preclinical development of a humanized chimeric antigen receptor against B-cell maturation antigen for multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a prevalent and incurable disease, despite the development of new and effective drugs. The recent development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)T cells has shown impressive results in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic B-cell malignancies. In recent years, B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) has appeared as a promising antigen to target using a variety of immunotherapy treatments, including CART cells, for patients with multiple myeloma. To this end, we generated clinical-grade murine CART cells directed against BCMA, named ARI2m cells. Having demonstrated its efficacy, and in an attempt to avoid the immune rejection of CART cells by the patient, the single chain variable fragment was humanized, creating ARI2h cells. ARI2h cells showed comparable in vitro and in vivo efficacy to that of ARI2m cells, and superiority in cases of high tumor burden disease. In terms of inflammatory response, ARI2h cells produced less tumor necrosis factor-αand were associated with a milder in vivo toxicity profile. Large-scale expansion of both ARI2m and ARI2h cells was efficiently conducted following Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines, obtaining the target CART-cell dose required for treatment of multiple myeloma patients. Moreover, we demonstrated that soluble BCMA and BCMA released in vesicles both affect CAR-BCMA activity. In summary, this study sets the bases for the implementation of a clinical trial (EudraCT code: 2019-001472-11) to study the efficacy of ARI2h-cell treatment for patients with multiple myeloma

Diagnosis of Transient/Latent HPV Infections - A Point of View!

© 2018 IMSS Diagnosis of transient/latent HPV infections requires a rethinking of ideas concerning the host virus relationship. With this in mind, we address several concepts, such as mutualism and commensalism, to understand better the different stages of development, in addition to briefly covering current methods of detection. We suggest analyzing molecules related to the innate immune response for earlier diagnosis

Zinc-Alpha 2-Glycoprotein Gene Expression in Adipose Tissue Is Related with Insulin Resistance and Lipolytic Genes in Morbidly Obese Patients

10.1371/journal.pone.003326

Structural and vibrational study of pseudocubic CdIn2Se4 under compression

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Physical Chemistry C, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp5077565We report a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the structural and vibrational properties of a-CdIn2Se4 under compression. Angle-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy evidence that this ordered-vacancy compound with pseudocubic structure undergoes a phase transition (7 GPa) toward a disordered rocksalt structure as observed in many other ordered-vacancy compounds. The equation of state and the pressure dependence of the Raman-active modes of this semiconductor have been determined and compared both to ab initio total energy and lattice dynamics calculations and to related compounds. Interestingly, on decreasing pressure, at similar to 2 GPa, CdIn2Se4 transforms into a spinel structure which, according to calculations, is energetically competitive with the initial pseudocubic phase. The phase behavior of this compound under compression and the structural and compressibility trends in AB(2)Se(4) selenides are discussed.This study was supported by the Spanish government MEC under Grant Nos: MAT2013-46649-C4-3-P, MAT2013-46649-C4-2-P, MAT2010-21270-C04-03/04, and CTQ2009-14596-C02-01, by MALTA Consolider Ingenio 2010 Project (CSD2007-00045) and by Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-ACOMP-2013-1012). A.M. and P.R-H. acknowledge computing time provided by Red Espanola de Supercomputacion (RES) and MALTA-Cluster, and also to S. Munoz-Rodriguez for providing a data-parsing application. J.A.S. acknowledges Juan de la Cierva fellowship program for financial support.Santamaría Pérez, D.; Gomis, O.; Pereira, ALJ.; Vilaplana Cerda, RI.; Popescu, C.; Sans Tresserras, JÁ.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.... (2014). Structural and vibrational study of pseudocubic CdIn2Se4 under compression. Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 118(46):26987-26999. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp5077565S26987269991184

Adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib for patients with resected BRAF-mutated melanoma: DESCRIBE-AD real-world retrospective observational study

BRAF and MEK inhibitor, dabrafenib plus trametinib, adjuvant therapy is effective for high-risk resected melanoma patients with BRAF-V600 mutations. However, real-world evidence is limited. We aimed to determine the feasibility of this therapy in routine clinical practice. DESCRIBE-AD, a retrospective observational study, collected real-world data from 25 hospitals in Spain. Histologically confirmed and resected BRAF-mutated melanoma patients aged & GE;18 years who were previously treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib adjuvant therapy, were included. The primary objectives were treatment discontinuation rate and time to discontinuation. The secondary objectives included safety and efficacy. From October 2020 to March 2021, 65 patients were included. Dabrafenib and trametinib discontinuation rate due to treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade was 9%. Other reasons for discontinuation included patients' decisions (6%), physician decisions (6%), unrelated adverse events (3%), disease progression (5%), and others (5%). The median time to treatment discontinuation was 9 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 5-11]. G3-4 TRAEs occurred in 21.5% of patients, the most common being pyrexia (3%), asthenia (3%), and diarrhoea (3%). Unscheduled hospitalisations and clinical tests occurred in 6 and 22% of patients, respectively. After 20-month median follow-up (95% CI, 18-22), 9% of patients had exitus due to disease progression, with a 12-month relapse-free survival and overall survival rates of 95.3% and 100%, respectively. Dabrafenib and trametinib adjuvant therapy proved effective for melanoma patients in a real-world setting, with a manageable toxicity profile. Toxicity frequencies were low leading to low incidence of unscheduled medical visits, tests, and treatment discontinuations

The transition to parenthood following a history of childhood maltreatment: a review of the literature on prospective and new parents' experiences

Background: Becoming a parent is viewed as one of the most important transitions in one’s life. However, a history of childhood maltreatment may affect the adjustment to parenthood. Objective: The objective of this review was to synthesize the current evidence base to further our understanding of prospective and new parents’ experiences in the transition to parenthood (pregnancy to 2 years post-birth), in the context of having a childhood maltreatment history. Method: A scoping review of the literature was conducted using the following online databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycNET, and Published International Literature of Traumatic Stress. Results: The findings were synthesized into a four-component theoretical framework, which included mental health of the parent, physical changes, parental view of the child, and view of the self as a parent. A total of 69 papers, including 181,537 participants (of whom 30,482 mothers and 235 fathers had maltreatment histories), investigated the transition to parenthood. The majority of the studies showed that parents with a maltreatment history may suffer from a range of mental health problems during the transition to parenthood, experience more negative physical changes, and have more negative views of their child (or children). However, they reported both positive and negative experiences regarding their identity as a parent. Conclusions: The findings suggest that maltreatment is a risk factor for a more challenging transition to parenthood. Experiences of fathers with maltreatment histories merit more attention, as do those of parents in low- and middle-income countries. Future directions should include predictors of positive experiences and the development of early interventions to improve outcomes for this population