Assessing awareness and use of HIV self-testing kits after the introduction of a community-based HIV self-testing programme among men who have sex with men in Kenya

Men who have sex with men (MSM) bear a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections in Kenya, while experiencing discrimination, leading to suboptimal levels of HIV care. HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a tool to increase HIV screening and earlier diagnosis; however, questions remain regarding how best to scale-up HIVST to MSM in Kenya. The main objective of this study was to examine changes in knowledge and use of HIVST after implementation of a community-led HIVST project. Participants were MSM recruited from Kisumu, Mombasa, and Kiambu counties. Data were collected from two rounds (Round 1: 2019; Round 2: 2020) of serial cross-sectional integrated biological and behavioural assessments (IBBA), pre-, and post-project implementation. Two main outcomes were measured: 1) whether the respondent had ever heard of HIVST; and 2) whether they had ever used HIVST kits. Changes in outcomes between IBBA rounds were examined using modified multivariable Poisson regression models; adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported. A total of 2,328 respondents were included in main analyses. The proportion of respondents who had heard of HIVST increased from 75% in Round 1 to 94% in Round 2 (aPR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.2-1.3), while those reporting using an HIVST kit increased from 20% to 53% (aPR: 2.3, 95% CI: 2.0-2.6). Higher levels of education and HIV programme awareness were associated with both outcomes. Awareness and use of HIVST kits increased after implementation of a community-led HIVST implementation project, demonstrating the importance of integration with existing community groups

Effect of collaborative depression treatment on risk for diabetes: A 9-year follow-up of the IMPACT randomized controlled trial

Considerable epidemiologic evidence and plausible biobehavioral mechanisms suggest that depression is an independent risk factor for diabetes. Moreover, reducing the elevated diabetes risk of depressed individuals is imperative given that both conditions are leading causes of death and disability. However, because no prior study has examined clinical diabetes outcomes among depressed patients at risk for diabetes, the question of whether depression treatment prevents or delays diabetes onset remains unanswered. Accordingly, we examined the effect of a 12-month collaborative care program for late-life depression on 9-year diabetes incidence among depressed, older adults initially free of diabetes. Participants were 119 primary care patients [M (SD) age: 67.2 (6.9) years, 41% African American] with a depressive disorder but without diabetes enrolled at the Indiana sites of the Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT) trial. Incident diabetes cases were defined as diabetes diagnoses, positive laboratory values, or diabetes medication prescription, and were identified using electronic medical record and Medicare/Medicaid data. Surprisingly, the rate of incident diabetes in the collaborative care group was 37% (22/59) versus 28% (17/60) in the usual care group. Even though the collaborative care group exhibited greater reductions in depressive symptom severity (p = .024), unadjusted (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.69-2.43, p = .428) and adjusted (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.61-2.29, p = .616) Cox proportional hazards models indicated that the risk of incident diabetes did not differ between the treatment groups. Our novel preliminary findings raise the possibility that depression treatment alone may be insufficient to reduce the excess diabetes risk of depressed, older adults

Microdevices for extensional rheometry of low viscosity elastic liquids : a review

Extensional flows and the underlying stability/instability mechanisms are of extreme relevance to the efficient operation of inkjet printing, coating processes and drug delivery systems, as well as for the generation of micro droplets. The development of an extensional rheometer to characterize the extensional properties of low viscosity fluids has therefore stimulated great interest of researchers, particularly in the last decade. Microfluidics has proven to be an extraordinary working platform and different configurations of potential extensional microrheometers have been proposed. In this review, we present an overview of several successful designs, together with a critical assessment of their capabilities and limitations

New resampling method for evaluating stability of clusters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hierarchical clustering is a widely applied tool in the analysis of microarray gene expression data. The assessment of cluster stability is a major challenge in clustering procedures. Statistical methods are required to distinguish between real and random clusters. Several methods for assessing cluster stability have been published, including resampling methods such as the bootstrap.</p> <p>We propose a new resampling method based on continuous weights to assess the stability of clusters in hierarchical clustering. While in bootstrapping approximately one third of the original items is lost, continuous weights avoid zero elements and instead allow non integer diagonal elements, which leads to retention of the full dimensionality of space, i.e. each variable of the original data set is represented in the resampling sample.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparison of continuous weights and bootstrapping using real datasets and simulation studies reveals the advantage of continuous weights especially when the dataset has only few observations, few differentially expressed genes and the fold change of differentially expressed genes is low.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We recommend the use of continuous weights in small as well as in large datasets, because according to our results they produce at least the same results as conventional bootstrapping and in some cases they surpass it.</p

SLO-2 Is Cytoprotective and Contributes to Mitochondrial Potassium Transport

Mitochondrial potassium channels are important mediators of cell protection against stress. The mitochondrial large-conductance “big” K+ channel (mBK) mediates the evolutionarily-conserved process of anesthetic preconditioning (APC), wherein exposure to volatile anesthetics initiates protection against ischemic injury. Despite the role of the mBK in cardioprotection, the molecular identity of the channel remains unknown. We investigated the attributes of the mBK using C. elegans and mouse genetic models coupled with measurements of mitochondrial K+ transport and APC. The canonical Ca2+-activated BK (or “maxi-K”) channel SLO1 was dispensable for both mitochondrial K+ transport and APC in both organisms. Instead, we found that the related but physiologically-distinct K+ channel SLO2 was required, and that SLO2-dependent mitochondrial K+ transport was triggered directly by volatile anesthetics. In addition, a SLO2 channel activator mimicked the protective effects of volatile anesthetics. These findings suggest that SLO2 contributes to protection from hypoxic injury by increasing the permeability of the mitochondrial inner membrane to K+

Molybdenum (Mo) increases endogenous phenolics, proline and photosynthetic pigments and the phytoremediation potential of the industrially important plant Ricinus communis L. for removal of cadmium from contaminated soil.

Cadmium (Cd) in agricultural soil negatively affects crops yield and compromises food safety. Remediation of polluted soil is necessary for the re-establishment of sustainable agriculture and to prevent hazards to human health and environmental pollution. Phytoremediation is a promising technology for decontamination of polluted soil. The present study investigated the effect of molybdenum (Mo) (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 ppm) on endogenous production of total phenolics and free proline, plant biomass and photosynthetic pigments in Ricinus communis plants grown in Cd (25, 50 and 100 ppm) contaminated soils and the potential for Cd phytoextraction. Mo was applied via seed soaking, soil addition and foliar spray. Foliar sprays significantly increased plant biomass, Cd accumulation and bioconcentration. Phenolic concentrations showed significantly positive correlations with Cd accumulation in roots (R 2 = 0.793, 0.807 and 0.739) and leaves (R 2 = 0.707, 721 and 0.866). Similarly, proline was significantly positively correlated with Cd accumulation in roots (R 2 = 0.668, 0.694 and 0.673) and leaves (R 2 = 0.831, 0.964 and 0.930). Foliar application was found to be the most effective way to deliver Mo in terms of increase in plant growth, Cd accumulation and production of phenolics and proline

MUC1-associated proliferation signature predicts outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma patients

Background: MUC1 protein is highly expressed in lung cancer. The cytoplasmic domain of MUC1 (MUC1-CD) induces tumorigenesis and resistance to DNA-damaging agents. We characterized MUC1-CD-induced transcriptional changes and examined their significance in lung cancer patients. Methods: Using DNA microarrays, we identified 254 genes that were differentially expressed in cell lines transformed by MUC1-CD compared to control cell lines. We then examined expression of these genes in 441 lung adenocarcinomas from a publicly available database. We employed statistical analyses independent of clinical outcomes, including hierarchical clustering, Student's t-tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, to select a seven-gene MUC1-associated proliferation signature (MAPS). We demonstrated the prognostic value of MAPS in this database using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, log-rank tests and Cox models. The MAPS was further validated for prognostic significance in 84 lung adenocarcinoma patients from an independent database. Results: MAPS genes were found to be associated with proliferation and cell cycle regulation and included CCNB1, CDC2, CDC20, CDKN3, MAD2L1, PRC1 and RRM2. MAPS expressors (MAPS+) had inferior survival compared to non-expressors (MAPS-). In the initial data set, 5-year survival was 65% (MAPS-) vs. 45% (MAPS+, p < 0.0001). Similarly, in the validation data set, 5-year survival was 57% (MAPS-) vs. 28% (MAPS+, p = 0.005). Conclusions: The MAPS signature, comprised of MUC1-CD-dependent genes involved in the control of cell cycle and proliferation, is associated with poor outcomes in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung. These data provide potential new prognostic biomarkers and treatment targets for lung adenocarcinoma

Blue carbon stock of the Bangladesh Sundarban mangroves: what could be the scenario after a century?

The total blue carbon stock of the Bangladesh Sundarban mangroves was evaluated and the probable future status after a century was predicted based on the recent trend of changes in the last 30 years and implementing a hybrid model of Markov Chain and Cellular automata. At present 36.24 Tg C and 54.95 Tg C are stored in the above-ground and below-ground compartments respectively resulting in total blue carbon stock of 91.19 Tg C. According to the prediction 15.88 Tg C would be lost from this region by the year 2115. The low saline species composition classes dominated mainly by Heritiera spp. accounts for the major portion of the carbon sock at present (45.60 Tg C), while the highly saline regions stores only 14.90 Tg C. The prediction shows that after a hundred years almost 22.42 Tg C would be lost from the low saline regions accompanied by an increase of 8.20 Tg C in the high saline regions dominated mainly by Excoecaria sp. and Avicennia spp. The net carbon loss would be due to both mangrove area loss (~ 510 km2) and change in species composition leading to 58.28 Tg of potential CO2 emission within the year 2115

Evaluation of nine candidate genes in patients with normal tension glaucoma: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Normal tension glaucoma is a major subtype of glaucoma, associated with intraocular pressures that are within the statistically normal range of the population. Monogenic forms following classical inheritance patterns are rare in this glaucoma subtype. Instead, multigenic inheritance is proposed for the majority of cases. The present study tested common sequence variants in candidate genes for association with normal tension glaucoma in the German population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ninety-eight SNPs were selected to tag the common genetic variation in nine genes, namely OPTN (optineurin), RDX (radixin), SNX16 (sorting nexin 16), OPA1 (optic atrophy 1), MFN1 (mitofusin 1), MFN2 (mitofusin 2), PARL (presenilin associated, rhomboid-like), SOD2 (superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial) and CYP1B1 (cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily B, polypeptide 1). These SNPs were genotyped in 285 cases and 282 fully evaluated matched controls. Statistical analyses comprised single polymorphism association as well as haplogroup based association testing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results suggested that genetic variation in five of the candidate genes (RDX, SNX16, OPA1, SOD2 and CYP1B1) is unlikely to confer major risk to develop normal tension glaucoma in the German population. In contrast, we observed a trend towards association of single SNPs in OPTN, MFN1, MFN2 and PARL. The SNPs of OPTN, MFN2 and PARL were further analysed by multimarker haplotype-based association testing. We identified a risk haplotype being more frequent in patients and a vice versa situation for the complementary protective haplotype in each of the three genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Common variants of OPTN, PARL, MFN1 and MFN2 should be analysed in other cohorts to confirm their involvement in normal tension glaucoma.</p