Reporting on violence: bringing a public health perspective into the newsroom.

The authors present a case study of a collaboration among the Berkeley Media Studies Group, the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism, and journalist Jane Ellen Stevens to introduce to five metropolitan newspapers new violence-reporting techniques that include a public health perspective. A handbook was designed for journalists, and workshops were conducted to explore with editors and reporters how newspapers can report highly unusual crimes and yet avoid misrepresenting the patterns of violence in their communities and creating misguided fear in the public. This case study documents how journalists can be meaningfully engaged on this topic with people from public health despite typical barriers to access faced by public health practitioners and solid resistance from many editors and reporters. The authors describe goals, objectives, and activities across five daily newspapers along with journalists' reactions, concerns, and resistance to the issues that were raised.     

Genetic changes at the beta-2-adrenergic receptor locus on chromosome 5 in human colorectal carcinomas.

Matched normal/tumor DNA pairs from 44 colorectal carcinoma patients were examined for tumor-specific genetic changes using a probe for the beta-2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2R) gene on chromosome 5. This locus (5q31-q32) maps close to the site of chromosomal deletions recently reported to occur in colorectal carcinomas and distal to the chromosomal location of the familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) gene (5q21-q22). Our investigation shows tumor-specific allele loss or allelic rearrangement of at least 29% at the AdRb2R locus on chromosome 5 in informative cases. These results suggest that the mechanism by which colorectal carcinomas lose genetic material on chromosome 5 can affect this functional gene located distally to the FAP gene. The possible functional significance that ADRB2R gene changes may have in neoplastic progression is discussed.     

Enhancement of macrophage superoxide anion production by amphotericin B.

Amphotericin B (AmB) appears to have some important immunomodulatory effects, but its mechanism of action has not been explained. We investigated the effects of AmB on activation of human monocyte-derived macrophages. Macrophages cultured in the presence of AmB had an enhanced capacity to produce superoxide anion after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate. This enhancement was dose dependent within a therapeutic range of AmB levels (0.1 to 3.0 mg/liter). Macrophages cultured in the presence of AmB had enhanced surface expression of Ia antigen; phagocytosis of unopsonized zymosan, opsonized Staphylococcus aureus, or erythrocytes opsonized with C3bi or immunoglobulin G paradoxically appeared to be reduced, but results did not achieve statistical significance. AmB appears to activate macrophages and may do so via direct effects on the plasma membrane.     

Peer support and improved quality of life among persons living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment: A randomised controlled trial from north-eastern Vietnam

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Among people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), it is important to determine how quality of life (QOL) may be improved and HIV-related stigma can be lessened over time. This study assessed the effect of peer support on QOL and internal stigma during the first year after initiating ART among a cohort of PLHIV in north-eastern Vietnam. METHODS: A sub-sample study of a randomised controlled trial was implemented between October 2008 and November 2010 in Quang Ninh, Vietnam. In the intervention group, participants (n=119) received adherence support from trained peer supporters who visited participants' houses biweekly during the first two months, thereafter weekly. In the control group, participants (n=109) were treated according to standard guidelines, including adherence counselling, monthly health check and drug refills. Basic demographics were measured at baseline. QOL and internal stigma were measured using a Vietnamese version of the WHOQOL-HIVBREF and Internal AIDS-related Stigma Scale instruments at baseline and 12 months. T-tests were used to detect the differences between mean values, multilevel linear regressions to determine factors influencing QOL. RESULTS: Overall, QOL improved significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group. Among participants initiating ART at clinical stages 3 and 4, education at high school level or above and having experiences of a family member dying from HIV were also associated with higher reported QOL. Among participants at clinical stage 1 and 2, there was no significant effect of peer support, whereas having children was associated with an increased QOL. Viral hepatitis was associated with a decreased QOL in both groups. Lower perceived stigma correlated significantly but weakly with improved QOL, however, there was no significant relation to peer support. CONCLUSION: The peer support intervention improved QOL after 12 months among ART patients presenting at clinical stages 3 and 4 at baseline, but it had no impact on QOL among ART patients enrolled at clinical stages 1 and 2. The intervention did not have an effect on Internal AIDS-related stigma. To improve QOL for PLHIV on ART, measures to support adherence should be contextualized in accordance with individual clinical and social needs. KEYWORDS: Quality of life, Peer support, HIV, ART, Quang Ninh, Vietnam, randomised controlled trial.     

Gender inequalities in tuberculosis: aspects of infection, notification rates, and compliance

Tuberculosis (TB) kills approximately 1 million women per year and it is estimated that almost 1 billion women and girls are infected with TB worldwide. Gender aspects of TB have been neglected in the research, and little attention is given to gender in TB-control programs. This review brings together the most important publications on gender and TB during 1999 and 2000 and illuminates areas where gender has an impact on the disease and its control. Even though only a limited number of publications on gender aspects of TB are available, some interesting findings were presented during the past year. Studies from Vietnam have shown that women with pulmonary TB are diagnosed on average 2 weeks later than men because of delays from the health care provider. In a study of persons with cough it was found that men were given sputum examinations more often than women. These and other findings are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that women with TB are under-notified.     

Attention to television: intrastimulus effects of movement and scene changes on alpha variation over time

Central and occipital EEG alpha were used as an on-line measure of momentary changes in covert attention during television viewing. Alpha was recorded during nine 30-second commercials shown embedded in a half-hour situation comedy. Two time series were constructed for data analysis. A stimulus series consisted of codes representing the presence or absence of scene changes or person and object movement for each half-second interval of the commercials. The alpha series consisted of median alpha scores for each half-second interval, aggregated across 26 subjects. The alpha series was regressed on the movement and scene change series, both of which produced significant increments in R, even after autocorrelational effects inherent in the alpha series were removed. As a validity check on the attentional interpretation of alpha, it was shown that mean alpha for each commercial was significantly (negatively) correlated with recall and recognition of commercial contents. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for further use of continuously-recorded alpha in research on factors that influence attention to television.