762 research outputs found
Tumblr, Vilmeo, Pinterest, Wikis, Mashups: \u3cem\u3eEloquentia Perfecta\u3c/em\u3e and the New Media Landscape
Book Review of \u3cem\u3eCatholic Perspectives on Sports: From Medieval to Modern Times\u3c/em\u3e, by Patrick Kelly, S.J.
Book Review of \u3cem\u3eWhen the Gospel Grows Feet: Rutilio Grande, SJ, and the Church of El Salvador\u3c/em\u3e, by Thomas M. Kelley
Survey of children accessing HIV services in a high prevalence setting: time for adolescents to count?
OBJECTIVE: To establish the proportion of adolescents among children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Zimbabwe who receive HIV care and support, and what clinic staff perceives to be the main problems faced by HIV-infected children and adolescents. METHODS: In July 2008, we sent a questionnaire to all 131 facilities providing HIV care in Zimbabwe. In it we requested an age breakdown of the children (aged 0-19 years) registered for care and asked what were the two major problems faced by younger children (0-5 years) and adolescents (10-19 years). FINDINGS: Nationally, 115 (88%) facilities responded. In 98 (75%) that provided complete data, 196 032 patients were registered and 24 958 (13%) of them were children. Of children under HIV care, 33% were aged 0-4 years; 25%, 5-9 years; 25%, 10-14 years; and 17%, 15-19 years. Staff highlighted differences in the problems most commonly faced by younger children and adolescents. For younger children, such problems were malnutrition and lack of appropriate drugs (cited by 46% and 40% of clinics, respectively); for adolescents they concerned psychosocial issues and poor drug adherence (cited by 56% and 36%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Interventions for the large cohort of adolescents who are receiving HIV care in Zimbabwe need to target the psychosocial concerns and poor drug adherence reported by staff as being the main concerns in this age group
Recommended from our members
Insect herbivory on seedlings of rainforest trees: effects of density and distance of conspecific and heterospecific neighbours
Natural enemies of plants such as insect herbivores can contribute to structuring and maintaining plant diversity in tropical forests. Most research in this area has focused on the role of specialized enemies and the extent to which herbivory on individual plant species is densityâdependent. Relatively few insect herbivores specialize on a single host plant species. Insect herbivores that feed on more than one plant species may link the regeneration dynamics of their host species through âapparent competitionâ or âapparent mutualism.â We investigated herbivory and survival of seedlings of two tropical tree species (Cordia alliodora and Cordia bicolor) in the forests of Barro Colorado Island (Panama). We used experiments and observations to assess seedling fate in relation to the presence of conspecifics and heterospecifics across a range of spatial scales. Herbivory significantly increased seedling mortality and was highest at high local densities of C. alliodora seedlings. There was also evidence that high local densities of C. alliodora increased herbivory on coâoccurring C. bicolor seedlings. Synthesis. The elevated rates of seedling herbivory at high densities of conspecifics documented in our study are consistent with the predictions of the JanzenâConnell hypothesis, which explains how so many plant species can coexist in tropical forests. Our data also highlight the possibility that herbivoreâmediated densityâdependence, facilitated by herbivores that feed on multiple plant species, can also occur across plant species. Enemyâmediated indirect effects of this sort have the potential to structure plant communities
PD-L1 blockade enhances response of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma to radiotherapy
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is considered a nonâimmunogenic tumor, and immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy lacks efficacy in this disease. Radiotherapy (RT) can stimulate the immune system. Here, we show that treatment of KPC and Pan02 murine PDAC cells with RT and gemcitabine upregulated PDâL1 expression in a JAK/Stat1âdependent manner. In vitro, PDâL1 inhibition did not alter radioâ and chemosensitivity. In vivo, addition of antiâPDâL1 to high (12, 5 Ă 3, 20 Gy) but not low (6, 5 Ă 2 Gy) RT doses significantly improved tumor response in KPC and Pan02 allografts. Radiosensitization after PDâL1 blockade was associated with reduced CD11b+Gr1+ myeloid cell infiltration and enhanced CD45+CD8+ Tâcell infiltration with concomitant upregulation of Tâcell activation markers including CD69, CD44, and FasL, and increased CD8:Treg ratio. Depletion of CD8+ T cells abrogated radiosensitization by antiâPDâL1. Blockade of PDâL1 further augmented the effect of high RT doses (12 Gy) in preventing development of liver metastases. Exploring multiple mathematical models reveals a mechanism able to explain the observed synergy between RT and antiâPDâL1 therapy. Our findings provide a rationale for testing the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors with RT in PDAC
- âŠ