Prevalence of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior and Associated Characteristics among Low-Income Urban Males in Peru

Peru has a concentrated HIV epidemic in which men who have sex with men are particularly vulnerable. We describe the lifetime prevalence of same-sex sexual contact and associated risk behaviors of men in Peru's general population, regardless of their sexual identity.A probability sample of males from low-income households in three Peruvian cities completed an epidemiologic survey addressing their sexual risk behavior, including sex with other men. Serum was tested for HSV-2, HIV, and syphilis. Urine was tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea. A total of 2,271 18-30 year old men and women were contacted, of whom 1,645 (72.4%) agreed to participate in the study. Among the sexually experienced men surveyed, 15.2% (85/558, 95% CI: 12.2%-18.2%) reported a history of sex with other men. Men ever reporting sex with men (MESM) had a lower educational level, had greater numbers of sex partners, and were more likely to engage in risk behaviors including unprotected sex with casual partners, paying for or providing compensated sex, and using illegal drugs. MESM were also more likely to have had previous STI symptoms or a prior STI diagnosis, and had a greater prevalence of HSV-2 seropositivity.Many low-income Peruvian men have engaged in same-sex sexual contact and maintain greater behavioral and biological risk factors for HIV/STI transmission than non-MESM. Improved surveillance strategies for HIV and STIs among MESM are necessary to better understand the epidemiology of HIV in Latin America and to prevent its further spread

Full Sequence and Comparative Analysis of the Plasmid pAPEC-1 of Avian Pathogenic E. coli χ7122 (O78∶K80∶H9)

(APEC), are very diverse. They cause a complex of diseases in Human, animals, and birds. Even though large plasmids are often associated with the virulence of ExPEC, their characterization is still in its infancy., are also present in the sequence of pAPEC-1. The comparison of the pAPEC-1 sequence with the two available plasmid sequences reveals more gene loss and reorganization than previously appreciated. The presence of pAPEC-1-associated genes is assessed in human ExPEC by PCR. Many patterns of association between genes are found.The pathotype typical of pAPEC-1 was present in some human strains, which indicates a horizontal transfer between strains and the zoonotic risk of APEC strains. ColV plasmids could have common virulence genes that could be acquired by transposition, without sharing genes of plasmid function

P2 receptors are involved in the mediation of motivation-related behavior

The importance of purinergic signaling in the intact mesolimbic–mesocortical circuit of the brain of freely moving rats is reviewed. In the rat, an endogenous ADP/ATPergic tone reinforces the release of dopamine from the axon terminals in the nucleus accumbens as well as from the somatodendritic region of these neurons in the ventral tegmental area, as well as the release of glutamate, probably via P2Y1 receptor stimulation. Similar mechanisms may regulate the release of glutamate in both areas of the brain. Dopamine and glutamate determine in concert the activity of the accumbal GABAergic, medium-size spiny neurons thought to act as an interface between the limbic cortex and the extrapyramidal motor system. These neurons project to the pallidal and mesencephalic areas, thereby mediating the behavioral reaction of the animal in response to a motivation-related stimulus. There is evidence that extracellular ADP/ATP promotes goal-directed behavior, e.g., intention and feeding, via dopamine, probably via P2Y1 receptor stimulation. Accumbal P2 receptor-mediated glutamatergic mechanisms seem to counteract the dopaminergic effects on behavior. Furthermore, adaptive changes of motivation-related behavior, e.g., by chronic succession of starvation and feeding or by repeated amphetamine administration, are accompanied by changes in the expression of the P2Y1 receptor, thought to modulate the sensitivity of the animal to respond to certain stimuli

A systematic review of the role of vitamin insufficiencies and supplementation in COPD

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulmonary inflammation, oxidants-antioxidants imbalance, as well as innate and adaptive immunity have been proposed as playing a key role in the development of COPD. The role of vitamins, as assessed either by food frequency questionnaires or measured in serum levels, have been reported to improve pulmonary function, reduce exacerbations and improve symptoms. Vitamin supplements have therefore been proposed to be a potentially useful additive to COPD therapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic literature review was performed on the association of vitamins and COPD. The role of vitamin supplements in COPD was then evaluated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this review showed that various vitamins (vitamin C, D, E, A, beta and alpha carotene) are associated with improvement in features of COPD such as symptoms, exacerbations and pulmonary function. High vitamin intake would probably reduce the annual decline of FEV1. There were no studies that showed benefit from vitamin supplementation in improved symptoms, decreased hospitalization or pulmonary function.</p

White matter deficits in psychopathic offenders and correlation with factor structure

Contains fulltext : 119541.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Psychopathic offenders show a persistent pattern of emotional unresponsivity to the often horrendous crimes they perpetrate. Recent studies have related psychopathy to alterations in white matter. Therefore, diffusion tensor imaging followed by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis in 11 psychopathic offenders matched to 11 healthy controls was completed. Fractional anisotropy was calculated within each voxel and comparisons were made between groups using a permutation test. Any clusters of white matter voxels different between groups were submitted to probabilistic tractography. Significant differences in fractional anisotropy were found between psychopathic offenders and healthy controls in three main white matter clusters. These three clusters represented two major networks: an amygdalo-prefrontal network, and a striato-thalamo-frontal network. The interpersonal/affective component of the PCL-R correlated with white matter deficits in the orbitofrontal cortex and frontal pole whereas the antisocial component correlated with deficits in the striato-thalamo-frontal network. In addition to replicating earlier work concerning disruption of an amygdala-prefrontal network, we show for the first time that white matter integrity in a striato-thalamo-frontal network is disrupted in psychopathic offenders. The novelty of our findings lies in the two dissociable white matter networks that map directly onto the two major factors of psychopathy.8 p