The Effect of Mentholated Cigarette Use on interleukin-6 Responses Across Different HIV Positive Race/Ethnic Subgroups

In this report, we analyze trends in interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), as a function of smoking behaviors and race, using a clinic-based case-control design. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from a multiethnic cohort of 120 PLWH to measure IL-6 in culture supernatant. The data indicated that stimulated PBMC produced significantly higher levels of IL-6 in smokers than nonsmokers. However, as expected, this relationship was substantially modified by race. The distinctive production of IL-6 across different racial groups highlights the need for additional studies and suggests that African American smokers have enhanced production of IL-6 than other groups. Additional analyses indicate that higher IL-6 levels are related to the predicted use of mentholated cigarettes, which are more frequently used by African Americans. These findings warrant further investigation and indicate the critical need for tailored preventive interventions

Is it safe? Talking to teens with HIV/AIDS about death and dying: a 3-month evaluation of Family Centered Advance Care (FACE) planning ? anxiety, depression, quality of life

Purpose To determine the safety of engaging HIV-positive (HIV+) adolescents in a Family Centered Advance Care (FACE) planning intervention. Patients and methods We conducted a 2-armed, randomized controlled clinical trial in 2 hospital-based outpatient clinics from 2006?2008 with HIV+ adolescents and their surrogates (n = 76). Three 60?90 minutes sessions were conducted weekly. FACE intervention groups received: Lyon FCACP Survey©, the Respecting Choices¬ interview, and completion of The Five Wishes©. The Healthy Living Control (HLC) received: Developmental History, Healthy Tips, Future Planning (vocational, school or vocational rehabilitation). Three-month post-intervention outcomes were: completion of advance directive (Five Wishes©); psychological adjustment (Beck Depression, Anxiety Inventories); quality of life (PedsQL?); and HIV symptoms (General Health Self-Assessment). Results Adolescents had a mean age, 16 years; 40% male; 92% African-American; 68% with perinatally acquired HIV, 29% had AIDS diagnosis. FACE participants completed advance directives more than controls, using time matched comparison (P \u3c 0.001). Neither anxiety, nor depression, increased at clinically or statistically significant levels post-intervention. FACE adolescents maintained quality of life. FACE families perceived their adolescents as worsening in their school (P = 0.018) and emotional (P = 0.029) quality of life at 3 months, compared with controls. Conclusions Participating in advance care planning did not unduly distress HIV+ adolescents

Arthropods of the great indoorssuburban homes:characterizing diversity inside urban and suburban homes

Although humans and arthropods have been living and evolving together for all of our history, we know very little about the arthropods we share our homes with apart from major pest groups. Here we surveyed, for the first time, the complete arthropod fauna of the indoor biome in 50 houses (located in and around Raleigh, North Carolina, USA). We discovered high diversity, with a conservative estimate range of 32–211 morphospecies, and 24–128 distinct arthropod families per house. The majority of this indoor diversity (73%) was made up of true flies (Diptera), spiders (Araneae), beetles (Coleoptera), and wasps and kin (Hymenoptera, especially ants: Formicidae). Much of the arthropod diversity within houses did not consist of synanthropic species, but instead included arthropods that were filtered from the surrounding landscape. As such, common pest species were found less frequently than benign species. Some of the most frequently found arthropods in houses, such as gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) and book lice (Liposcelididae), are unfamiliar to the general public despite their ubiquity. These findings present a new understanding of the diversity, prevalence, and distribution of the arthropods in our daily lives. Considering their impact as household pests, disease vectors, generators of allergens, and facilitators of the indoor microbiome, advancing our knowledge of the ecology and evolution of arthropods in homes has major economic and human health implications

A SIGNAL DETECTION ANALYSIS OF PAIN REACTIONS IN MYOFASCIAL PAIN DYSFUNCTION (MPD) PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT AND IN NONPATIENTS.

A SIGNAL DETECTION ANALYSIS OF PAIN REACTIONS IN MYOFASCIAL PAIN DYSFUNCTION (MPD) PATIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT AND IN NONPATIENTS

Personality, Stress, and Social Support in HIV Risk Prediction

This study evaluated whether baseline levels of avoidant, antisocial, and dependent personality features and perceived stress and social support predict 12 month follow-up levels of unprotected sex in 141 male veterans undergoing alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse treatment that included an HIV transmission risk reduction (HIV-TRR) component. Because our focus is on psychosocial predictors of level of unprotected sex after completion of AOD/HIV-TRR treatment, we first controlled for potential confounds including (a) intake level of unprotected sex and (b) both intake and follow-up AOD abuse values. Further, because associations between both stress and social support and level of risk behavior may be attributable to underlying pathological personality factors, we controlled for these factors in analyses of stress and support effects. Sequential regression was employed to determine if personality and then stress and social support characteristics improved prediction of unprotected sex after entering covariates. Pretreatment levels of unprotected sex and dependent personality significantly predicted unprotected sex during follow-up. Avoidant personality was associated with reduced risk linked with lower levels of sexual involvement. Perceived stress and social support did not significantly predict level of unprotected sex during follow-up. We found significant decreases in levels of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine and in the number reporting IDU. Implications for developing personality-sensitive HIV prevention interventions are discussed