Affected Family Members\u27 Communicative Management of Opioid Misuse Stigma: Applying and Rethinking the Stigma Management Communication Typology

Opioid misuse is a prevalent health problem in the United States with consequences extending past the person who misuses opioids to affected family members (AFM) through courtesy stigma. The goals of this study were to understand the stigma management communication (SMC) strategies employed by AFMs when they experience courtesy stigma and changes in strategies used over time. The findings from interviews with 34 AFMs suggest the SMC strategies they employ range from those that indicate acceptance of stigma and avoidance of stigma situations to strategies where AFMs actively challenge opioid misuse stigma. However, strategy use depended on the social context and AFMs’ perceptions of opioid misuse stigma at a given moment in time. Further, findings suggest changes in AFMs’ SMC strategies over time are related to changes in their perceptions of opioid misuse stigma. Theoretical and practical implications of how families manage stigma are discussed

Examining a staging model for anorexia nervosa: empirical exploration of a four stage model of severity.

Background: An illness staging model for anorexia nervosa (AN) has received increasing attention, but assessing the merits of this concept is dependent on empirically examining a model in clinical samples. Building on preliminary findings regarding the reliability and validity of the Clinician Administered Staging Instrument for Anorexia Nervosa (CASIAN), the current study explores operationalising CASIAN severity scores into stages and assesses their relationship with other clinical features. Method: In women with DSM-IV-R AN and sub-threshold AN (all met AN criteria using DSM 5), receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis (n = 67) assessed the relationship between the sensitivity and specificity of each stage of the CASIAN. Thereafter chi-square and post-hoc adjusted residual analysis provided a preliminary assessment of the validity of the stages comparing the relationship between stage and treatment intensity and AN sub-types, and explored movement between stages after six months (Time 3) in a larger cohort (n = 171). Results: The CASIAN significantly distinguished between milder stages of illness (Stage 1 and 2) versus more severe stages of illness (Stages 3 and 4), and approached statistical significance in distinguishing each of the four stages from one other. CASIAN Stages were significantly associated with treatment modality and primary diagnosis, and CASIAN Stage at Time 1 was significantly associated with Stage at 6 month follow-up. Conclusions: Provisional support is provided for a staging model in AN. Larger studies with longer follow-up of cases are now needed to replicate and extend these findings and evaluate the overall utility of staging as well as optimal staging models

Multiway modeling and analysis in stem cell systems biology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Systems biology refers to multidisciplinary approaches designed to uncover emergent properties of biological systems. Stem cells are an attractive target for this analysis, due to their broad therapeutic potential. A central theme of systems biology is the use of computational modeling to reconstruct complex systems from a wealth of reductionist, molecular data (e.g., gene/protein expression, signal transduction activity, metabolic activity, etc.). A number of deterministic, probabilistic, and statistical learning models are used to understand sophisticated cellular behaviors such as protein expression during cellular differentiation and the activity of signaling networks. However, many of these models are bimodal i.e., they only consider row-column relationships. In contrast, multiway modeling techniques (also known as tensor models) can analyze multimodal data, which capture much more information about complex behaviors such as cell differentiation. In particular, tensors can be very powerful tools for modeling the dynamic activity of biological networks over time. Here, we review the application of systems biology to stem cells and illustrate application of tensor analysis to model collagen-induced osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We applied Tucker1, Tucker3, and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) models to identify protein/gene expression patterns during extracellular matrix-induced osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. In one case, we organized our data into a tensor of type protein/gene locus link × gene ontology category × osteogenic stimulant, and found that our cells expressed two distinct, stimulus-dependent sets of functionally related genes as they underwent osteogenic differentiation. In a second case, we organized DNA microarray data in a three-way tensor of gene IDs × osteogenic stimulus × replicates, and found that application of tensile strain to a collagen I substrate accelerated the osteogenic differentiation induced by a static collagen I substrate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest gene- and protein-level models whereby stem cells undergo transdifferentiation to osteoblasts, and lay the foundation for mechanistic, hypothesis-driven studies. Our analysis methods are applicable to a wide range of stem cell differentiation models.</p

The importance of oral health education in patients receiving orthodontic treatment

Introduction: Evaluation of the effectiveness of a well-targeted educational campaign specially designed toward the improvement of oral health and maintenance of removable orthodontic appliances should be considered during an orthodontic treatment. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the oral hygiene protocol on oral health through assessing plaque accumulation on the removable orthodontic appliance, to establish the impact of oral hygiene protocol on oral health through assessing the patients' plaque accumulation on the tooth surface and gingival bleeding, and to evaluate the degree of halitosis between the intervention and control groups. Materials and Methods: The study involved 80 patients who were equally assigned to the intervention and control removable orthodontic treatment groups. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, soft-tissue examination, breath checker, and staining the appliance with methylene blue disclosing solution. Results: The plaque score of both groups at Review 2 emphasized a significant difference (P = 0.021), yet neither differences at baseline (P = 0.989) nor Review 1 (P = 0.786) were found. The odor score of both groups at Review 2 showed a significant difference (P = 0.012). All interventional patients and only 10% of the control group patients were aware of appliance removal during sport. There was no significant difference (P = 0.211) between the responses of patients concerning the cleaning method of the appliance. The patients showed a higher user rate of mouthwash, and they were more successful with respect to when it should be used. Conclusion: The effectiveness of an educational session has been demonstrated in some aspects of the research

Identification of vaccine candidate antigens from a genomic analysis of Porphyomonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a key periodontal pathogen which has been implicated in the etiology of chronic adult periodontitis. Our aim was to develop a protein based vaccine for the prevention and or treatment of this disease. We used a whole genome sequencing approach to identify potential vaccine candidates. From a genomic sequence, we selected 120 genes using a series of bioinformatics methods. The selected genes were cloned for expression in Escherichia coli and screened with P. gingivalis antisera before purification and testing in an animal model. Two of these recombinant proteins (PG32 and PG33) demonstrated significant protection in the animal model, while a number were reactive with various antisera. This process allows the rapid identification of vaccine candidates from genomic data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved