ปัจจัยเชิงเหตุที่เกี่ยวกับพฤติกรรมสุขภาพผู้สูงอายุตอนต้นจังหวัดขอนแก่น

Causal Factors of health behaviors of the young-old in Khon Kaen Sirindhorn College  of Public Health Khon KaenThe objectives of this research were to study and analyze the causal factors through the structural equation model towards health behaviors of the older. The sample were 450 aged 60 to 69 years living in Khon Kaen Province and were taken by using multistage random sampling. Data were collected by employing questionnaires, consisting of five parts with seven numerical scales (IOC = .9301and reliability coefficient = .884). The developed causal models were examined by applying AMOS. The results revealed that the factors related to Future Orientation and Social Support had direct effect on the health behaviors (r = .856 and .146 respectively). The factor linked to Locus of control had indirect effect on the health behaviors through Social Support and/or Future Orientation. It appeared that the developed causal model of health behaviors among older adult was in harmony with the empirical data after adjusting model resulting in satisfactory level of the goodness of fitting indices with CMIN/DF = 1.88, SRMR = .076, GFI = .967, AGFI = .945, CFI = .908 and RMSEA = .044. It could be concluded that all of causal variables in this model could explain the variance of the young-old’s health behaviors approximately 84.8%.Keywords: health behavior, the young-old, causal factor, future orientation, locus of control social supportบทคัดย่อการวิจัยนี้ มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาปัจจัยเชิงเหตุและพัฒนาโมเดลสมการโครงสร้างปัจจัยเชิงสาเหตุที่มีผลต่อพฤติกรรมสุขภาพผู้สูงอายุจังหวัดขอนแก่น ที่มีอายุระหว่าง 60-69 ปีได้มาจากการสุ่มตัวอย่างแบบหลายขั้นตอนจำนวน 450 คน เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัยคือ แบบสอบถาม 5 ส่วน ความเที่ยงตรงเชิงเนื้อหาด้วยค่า IOC เท่ากับ .9301 ค่าความเชื่อมั่นเท่ากับ 0.884 และวิเคราะห์โมเดลเชิงเหตุด้วยโปรแกรม AMOS ผลการศึกษาพบว่า ปัจจัยลักษณะมุ่งอนาคตและปัจจัยการสนับสนุนทางสังคม มีอิทธิพลทางตรงต่อพฤติกรรมสุขภาพเท่ากับ .86 และ .15 ตามลำดับ ในขณะที่ปัจจัยความเชื่ออำนาจแห่งตนมีอิทธิพลทางอ้อมต่อพฤติกรรมสุขภาพ โดยผ่านปัจจัยการสนับสนุนทางสังคม และ/หรือปัจจัยลักษณะมุ่งอนาคต ส่วนโมเดลเชิงเหตุของพฤติกรรมสุขภาพผู้สูงอายุที่พัฒนาขึ้น มีความสอดคล้องกับข้อมูลเชิงประจักษ์ (CMIN/DF = 1.88, SRMR = .076, GFI = .967, AGFI = .945,CFI = .908 และ RMSEA = .044) ปัจจัยในโมเดลร่วมกันอธิบายความแปรปรวนของพฤติกรรมสุขภาพผู้สูงอายุตอนต้นได้ร้อยละ 84.8คำสำคัญ: พฤติกรรมสุขภาพ ผู้สูงอายุตอนต้น ปัจจัยเชิงเหตุลักษณะมุ่งอนาคต ความเชื่ออำนาจแห่งตนการสนับสนุนทางสังค

CTL epitope distribution patterns in the Gag and Nef proteins of HIV-1 from subtype A infected subjects in Kenya: Use of multiple peptide sets increases the detectable breadth of the CTL response

BACKGROUND: Subtype A is a major strain in the HIV-1 pandemic in eastern Europe, central Asia and in certain regions of east Africa, notably in rural Kenya. While considerable effort has been focused upon mapping and defining immunodominant CTL epitopes in HIV-1 subtype B and subtype C infections, few epitope mapping studies have focused upon subtype A. RESULTS: We have used the IFN-γ ELIspot assay and overlapping peptide pools to show that the pattern of CTL recognition of the Gag and Nef proteins in subtype A infection is similar to that seen in subtypes B and C. The p17 and p24 proteins of Gag and the central conserved region of Nef were targeted by CTL from HIV-1-infected Kenyans. Several epitope/HLA associations commonly seen in subtype B and C infection were also observed in subtype A infections. Notably, an immunodominant HLA-C restricted epitope (Gag 296–304; YL9) was observed, with 8/9 HLA-C(W)0304 subjects responding to this epitope. Screening the cohort with peptide sets representing subtypes A, C and D (the three most prevalent HIV-1 subtypes in east Africa), revealed that peptide sets based upon an homologous subtype (either isolate or consensus) only marginally improved the capacity to detect CTL responses. While the different peptide sets detected a similar number of responses (particularly in the Gag protein), each set was capable of detecting unique responses not identified with the other peptide sets. CONCLUSION: Hence, screening with multiple peptide sets representing different sequences, and by extension different epitope variants, can increase the detectable breadth of the HIV-1-specific CTL response. Interpreting the true extent of cross-reactivity may be hampered by the use of 15-mer peptides at a single concentration and a lack of knowledge of the sequence that primed any given CTL response. Therefore, reagent choice and knowledge of the exact sequences that prime CTL responses will be important factors in experimentally defining cross-reactive CTL responses and their role in HIV-1 disease pathogenesis and validating vaccines aimed at generating broadly cross-reactive CTL responses

Variable contexts and levels of hypermutation in HIV-1 proviral genomes recovered from primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells

APOBEC-mediated cytidine cleamination of HIV-1 genomes during reverse transcription has been shown to be a potent mechanism of host restriction for HIV-1 infection ex vivo and in vitro. However, this defense system can be overcome by the viral protein Vif. Unlike other mechanisms of host restriction, the APOCEC-Vif interaction leaves an imprint on integrated proviruses in the form of G-A hypermutation. in the current work we systematically studied levels, contexts, and patterns of HIV-1 hypermutation in vivo. the analysis of 24 full-genome HIV-1 sequences retrieved from primary PBMCs, representing infections with several HIV-1 clades, and the inclusion of 7 cognate pairs of hypermutated/non-hypermutated sequences derived from the same patient sample, provided a comprehensive view of the characteristics of APOBEC-mediated restriction in vivo. Levels of hypermutation varied nearly 5-fold among the studied proviruses. GpG motifs were most frequently affected (22/24 proviruses). Levels of hypermutation varied across the genome. the reported twin peak pattern of hypermutation was observed in 18/24 hypermutants, but the remainder exhibited singular non-conforming patterns. These data suggest considerable complexity in the interplay of host restriction and viral defense during HIV-1 infection. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Henry M Jackson Fdn Advancement Mil Med, US Mil HIV Res Program, Rockville, MD 20850 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Div Infect Dis, BR-04039 São Paulo, BrazilWalter Reed Army Inst Res, Div Retrovirol, Rockville, MD 20850 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Div Infect Dis, BR-04039 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Effect of tarcolimus on skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis

No abstract available

Molecular Epidemiology of Early and Acute HIV Type 1 Infections in the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2005–2010

The U.S. military represents a unique population within the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) pandemic. The last comprehensive study of HIV-1 in members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (Sea Services) was completed in 2000, before large-scale combat operations were taking place. Here, we present molecular characterization of HIV-1 from 40 Sea Services personnel who were identified during their seroconversion window and initially classified as HIV-1 negative during screening. Protease/reverse transcriptase (pro/rt) and envelope (env) sequences were obtained from each member of the cohort. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on these regions to determine relatedness within the cohort and calculate the most recent common ancestor for the related sequences. We identified 39 individuals infected with subtype B and one infected with CRF01_AE. Comparison of the pairwise genetic distance of Sea Service sequences and reference sequences in the env and pro/rt regions showed that five samples were part of molecular clusters, a group of two and a group of three, confirmed by single genome amplification. Real-time molecular monitoring of new HIV-1 acquisitions in the Sea Services may have a role in facilitating public health interventions at sites where related HIV-1 infections are identified

Next-Generation Sequencing of HIV-1 Single Genome Amplicons

The analysis of HIV-1 sequences has helped understand the viral molecular epidemiology, monitor the development of antiretroviral drug resistance, and design candidate vaccines. The introduction of single genome amplification (SGA) has been a major advancement in the field, allowing for the characterization of multiple sequences per patient while preserving linkage among polymorphisms in the same viral genome copy. Sequencing of SGA amplicons is performed by capillary Sanger sequencing, which presents low throughput, requires a high amount of template, and is highly sensitive to template/primer mismatching. In order to meet the increasing demand for HIV-1 SGA amplicon sequencing, we have developed a platform based on benchtop next-generation sequencing (NGS) (IonTorrent) accompanied by a bioinformatics pipeline capable of running on computer resources commonly available at research laboratories. During assay validation, the NGS-based sequencing of 10 HIV-1 env SGA amplicons was fully concordant with Sanger sequencing. The field test was conducted on plasma samples from 10 US Navy and Marine service members with recent HIV-1 infection (sampling interval: 2005-2010; plasma viral load: 5,884-194,984 copies/ml). The NGS analysis of 101 SGA amplicons (median: 10 amplicons/individual) showed within-individual viral sequence profiles expected in individuals at this disease stage, including individuals with highly homogeneous quasispecies, individuals with two highly homogeneous viral lineages, and individuals with heterogeneous viral populations. In a scalability assessment using the Ion Chef automated system, 41/43 tested env SGA amplicons (95%) multiplexed on a single Ion 318 chip showed consistent gene-wide coverage \u3e50×. With lower sample requirements and higher throughput, this approach is suitable to support the increasing demand for high-quality and cost-effective HIV-1 sequences in fields such as molecular epidemiology, and development of preventive and therapeutic strategies

Expansion of Inefficient HIV-Specific CD8 T Cells during Acute Infection

ABSTRACT Attrition within the CD4 + T cell compartment, high viremia, and a cytokine storm characterize the early days after HIV infection. When the first emerging HIV-specific CD8 + T cell responses gain control over viral replication it is incomplete, and clearance of HIV infection is not achieved even in the rare cases of individuals who spontaneously control viral replication to nearly immeasurably low levels. Thus, despite their partial ability to control viremia, HIV-specific CD8 + T cell responses are insufficient to clear HIV infection. Studying individuals in the first few days of acute HIV infection, we detected the emergence of a unique population of CD38 + CD27 − CD8 + T cells characterized by the low expression of the CD8 receptor (CD8 dim ). Interestingly, while high frequencies of HIV-specific CD8 + T cell responses occur within the CD38 + CD27 − CD8 dim T cell population, the minority populations of CD8 bright T cells are significantly more effective in inhibiting HIV replication. Furthermore, the frequency of CD8 dim T cells directly correlates with viral load and clinical predictors of more rapid disease progression. We found that a canonical burst of proliferative cytokines coincides with the emergence of CD8 dim T cells, and the size of this population inversely correlates with the acute loss of CD4 + T cells. These data indicate, for the first time, that early CD4 + T cell loss coincides with the expansion of a functionally impaired HIV-specific CD8 dim T cell population less efficient in controlling HIV viremia. IMPORTANCE A distinct population of activated CD8 + T cells appears during acute HIV infection with diminished capacity to inhibit HIV replication and is predictive of viral set point, offering the first immunologic evidence of CD8 + T cell dysfunction during acute infection