Adolescent reproductive health and awareness of HIV among rural high school students, North Western Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is faced with an increasing problem from HIV infection, and the vulnerability of adolescents is a key concern. There is little information on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of this age group with respect to HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and preventive measures. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 260 students from two rural high schools in North Western Ethiopia. We found that although the general awareness of HIV was high, correct knowledge of the virus and its modes of transmission was shown in only 44% of adolescent boys and 41% of adolescent girls. Knowledge of HIV and condoms was lower among students whose parents were farmers, significant so among girls (p=0.02). Use of condoms among sexually active single male students (49%) was insufficient but was higher than among adolescents in many other African settings. Knowledge of STDs was generally low: 82% of adolescent males and 37% of adolescent females had some awareness of STDs. Almost 20% of sexually active males in the study had previously experienced an STD, almost all of whom had visited a commercial sex worker. Targeted interventions are warranted among adolescents and sex workers in Ethiopia complemented by STD treatment services

Structural Requirements in the Transmembrane Domain of GLIC Revealed by Incorporation of Noncanonical Histidine Analogs

The cyanobacterial pentameric ligand-gated ion channel GLIC, a homolog of the Cys-loop receptor superfamily, has provided useful structural and functional information about its eukaryotic counterparts. X-ray diffraction data and site-directed mutagenesis have previously implicated a transmembrane histidine residue (His234) as essential for channel function. Here, we investigated the role of His234 via synthesis and incorporation of histidine analogs and α-hydroxy acids using in vivo nonsense suppression. Receptors were expressed heterologously in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and whole-cell voltage-clamp electrophysiology was used to monitor channel activity. We show that an interhelix hydrogen bond involving His234 is important for stabilization of the open state, and that the shape and basicity of its side chain are highly sensitive to perturbations. In contrast, our data show that two other His residues are not involved in the acid-sensing mechanism

Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma: Minimally invasive surgery of an endoscopic and radiological finding in maxillary sinus mimicking an inverted papilloma

Abstract Introduction Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) is a benign entity characterized by an abnormal proliferation of glandular tissue surrounded by a thick eosinophilic basement membrane within ciliated respiratory epithelium with no evidence of atypical or metaplastic changes in the squamous cells. Case report An 84 years patient, non-smoker, with in treatment hypertension and depression reported a 3-month history of progressive right nasal obstruction, mucopurulent rhinorrhea, unilateral purulent post-nasal discharge and unilateral anosmia. Endoscopy showed a polypoidal masse, with no presence of nasal polyposis. The lesion, originating from the maxillary sinus, arose from middle meatus and extended inferiority up to the inferior turbinate.During an endoscopic minimally-invasive surgical procedure, we performed the complete excision of the whole lesion, through the use of micro-instruments and debrider technology. The patient underwent regular check-up after 3, 6 and 12 months: endoscopic and radiological evaluation showed no relapse of the disease. Conclusion Although REAH is a neoplastic pathology, the intrinsic characteristics of benignity and the typical limited and non-infiltrating diffusion allow a minimally invasive and conservative surgical approach without evidence of recurrence

Mind the Gap

Mind the Gap sought to improve the metacognition and academic attainment of pupils in Year 4. There were two aspects to the intervention. The first involved training teachers in how to embed metacognitive approaches in their work, and how to continue to effectively and strategically involve parents. This training took place over a day and was provided by a consultant. The second component focused on parental engagement and offered families the opportunity to participate in a series of facilitated workshops where children and parents work together to create an animated film. Sessions were coordinated by a practitioner who helped participants to think about how they are learning, create learning goals and reflect on their progress; to be metacognitive about the learning process they were engaged in together. The families were offered 2 hours of workshops per week for 5 weeks (10 hours in total). The project targeted schools in four areas of England: Birmingham, Devon, London and Manchester. It was delivered by the Campaign for Learning, with assessments carried out by Durham University. Delivery started in September 2012 and finished in October 2013. The project was evaluated using a randomised controlled trial, which compared the interventions to a ‘business-as-usual’ control group. It is important to note that it was eligibility for the animation course, not participation, that was randomised, so the results must be regarded as estimating the effect of being offered the animation course (alone or in combination with teacher training, as appropriate) rather than participating in it

Perturbation of Critical Prolines in Gloeobacter violaceus Ligand-gated Ion Channel (GLIC) Supports Conserved Gating Motions among Cys-loop Receptors.

Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC) has served as a valuable structural and functional model for the eukaryotic Cys-loop receptor superfamily. In Cys-loop and other receptors, we have previously demonstrated the crucial roles played by several conserved prolines. Here we explore the role of prolines in the gating transitions of GLIC. As conventional substitutions at some positions resulted in nonfunctional proteins, we used in vivo non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis to determine the specific structural requirements at these sites. Receptors were expressed heterologously in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and whole-cell electrophysiology was used to monitor channel activity. Pro-119 in the Cys-loop, Pro-198 and Pro-203 in the M1 helix, and Pro-299 in the M4 helix were sensitive to substitution, and distinct roles in receptor activity were revealed for each. In the context of the available structural data for GLIC, the behaviors of Pro-119, Pro-203, and Pro-299 mutants are consistent with earlier proline mutagenesis work. However, the Pro-198 site displays a unique phenotype that gives evidence of the importance of the region surrounding this residue for the correct functioning of GLIC.This work was supported by grants from the NIH (NS 34407 to DAD) and the Wellcome Trust (WT 81925 to SCRL), and an NIH/NRSA training grant (GM07616 to MR).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology via http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.69437

Surfactants: physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules

Macromolecules are essential cellular components in biological systems responsible for performing a large number of functions that are necessary for growth and perseverance of living organisms. Proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are three major classes of biological macromolecules. To predict the structure, function, and behaviour of any cluster of macromolecules, it is necessary to understand the interaction between them and other components through basic principles of chemistry and physics. An important number of macromolecules are present in mixtures with surfactants, where a combi- nation of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions is responsible for the specific properties of any solution. It has been demonstrated that surfactants can help the formation of helices in some proteins thereby promot- ing protein structure formation. On the other hand, there is extensive research towards the use of surfac- tants to solubilize drugs and pharmaceuticals; there- fore, it is evident that the interaction between surfactants with macromolecules is important for many applications which includes environmental processes and the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we describe the properties of different types of surfactants that are relevant for their physicochemical interactions with biological macromolecules, from macromolecules–surfactant complexes to hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions

Qeco: Una aplicación de arquitectura abierta para el desarrollo de aplicaciones de R con interfaz gráfica

Qeco surge para dar respuesta a los requerimientos de la comunidad de ecólogos para implementar métodos estadísticos y cuantitativos modernos basados en R en el marco de una aplicación con una interfaz gráfica. La principal característica que hace a Qeco diferente es que une lo mejor de las aplicaciones basadas en menús con el poder de R en una aplicación de arquitectura abierta diseñada para crecer de acuerdo a las necesidades y el conocimiento de los usuarios. Esta arquitectura permite crear aplicaciones personalizadas que pueden aprovechar el esfuerzo de múltiples desarrolladores, favoreciendo el nacimiento de proyectos colaborativos.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ