Nitric oxide-induced p53 accumulation and regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression by wild-type p53.

The tumor suppressor gene product p53 plays an important role in the cellular response to DNA damage from exogenous chemical and physical mutagens. Therefore, we hypothesized that p53 performs a similar role in response to putative endogenous mutagens, such as nitric oxide (NO). We report here that exposure of human cells to NO generated from an NO donor or from overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) results in p53 protein accumulation. In addition, expression of wild-type (WT) p53 in a variety of human tumor cell lines, as well as murine fibroblasts, results in down-regulation of NOS2 expression through inhibition of the NOS2 promoter. These data are consistent with the hypothesis of a negative feedback loop in which endogenous NO-induced DNA damage results in WT p53 accumulation and provides a novel mechanism by which p53 safeguards against DNA damage through p53-mediated transrepression of NOS2 gene expression, thus reducing the potential for NO-induced DNA damage.     

Development and characterization of nine polymorphic microsatellite markers from the sword prawn Parapenaeopsis hardwickii using PCR-based isolation of microsatellite arrays (PIMA)

Nine polymorphic microsatellite makers were isolated and characterized in 20 individuals of Parapenaeopsis hardwickii collected from the fishing ground near Ilan, Taiwan. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 8, observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.5263 to 0.7632, and from 0.4225 to 0.8044, respectively. Only one locus showed a Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium deviation. No linkage disequilibrium was found among these studied loci. This set of microsatellites provides a suitable tool for population genetic structure and fishery management of this species in Asian coastal waters.     

Absolute lymphocyte count and risk of short-term infection in patients with immune thrombocytopenia

Patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) may be at increased risk of infection because of the steroids and other immunosuppressive agents used in its treatment. This study aimed to identify events that are associated with infection within 6 months of diagnosis and the impact that infection has on survival. We retrospectively evaluated 239 patients (107 men, 132 women; median age 61 years) diagnosed between January 1997 and August 2011. Every patient received steroid treatment according to the platelet count and the extent of bleeding. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with the development of infection within 6 months of ITP being diagnosed. Sixty-two patients (25.9 %) developed an infection within 6 months of diagnosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that a lower absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) at diagnosis (<1?×?10⁹/l) was an independent risk factor for infection (P?=?0.039; 95 % confidence interval, 1.033–3.599; odds ratio, 1.928). The time to infection event is significant shorter in those of low ALC, compared with those of higher ALC (P?=?0.032). Furthermore, the 1-year mortality rate after ITP diagnosis was significantly higher in those patients who developed an infection (P?=?0.001). ITP patients with a low absolute lymphocyte count at diagnosis have an increased risk of infection, and those who develop infections have lower 1-year survival.     

A “Bone Marrow Score” for Predicting Hematological Disease in Immunocompetent Patients With Fevers of Unknown Origin

Delayed diagnosis of hematological malignancies in immunocompetent patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO) remains an exhausting challenge for non-hematologist physicians. This retrospective cohort study aimed to establish a scoring system, “bone marrow (BM) score”, to identify FUO patients who require early bone marrow biopsy (BMB) to diagnose hematological disease.Two cohorts, comprising 85 (training) and 20 (validation) eligible immunocompetent patients, with FUOs diagnosed between January 1, 2006 and July 31, 2013, underwent BMBs and were enrolled in the study. Demographic, laboratory, imaging, diagnostic, and outcome data were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Factors associated with hematological etiologies diagnosed using BMBs in the training cohort were identified and scored according to the relative hazards. These were further validated using the validation cohort.For the training cohort, 29 of 85 (34.1%) patients had hematological etiologies diagnosed using BMB. Seven factors significantly predicted the diagnostic yield of hematological diseases in the BM and were scored, with the 6 points for leucoerythroblastic changes in peripheral blood smears, 5.5 for elevated ferritin level (>1000 ng/mL), 4 for splenomegaly, 2 for thrombocytopenia, 1.5 for each of elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels and anemia, and 1 for neutropenia. When the cut-off value of the scoring system was set to 6, its sensitivity and specificity to diagnose hematological diseases in the BM of immunocompetent FUO patients were 93% and 58%, respectively. For the validation cohort, 7 of 20 (35%) patients had hematological disease, and all had BM scores higher than the cut-off, with the sensitivity and specificity at 100% and 77%, respectively.As immunocompetent FUO patients with hematological disease have poor prognoses, the “BM score” is valuable for non-hematologist physicians to identify immunocompetent FUO patients requiring early BMB.     

Tweet Content Related to Sexually Transmitted Diseases: No Joking Matter

Background

Online social media, such as the microblogging site Twitter, have become a space for speedy exchange of information regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), presenting a potential risk environment for how STDs are portrayed. Examining the types of “tweeters” (users who post messages on Twitter) and the nature of “tweet” messages is important for identifying how information related to STDs is posted in online social media.

Objective

The intent of the study was to describe the types of message emitters on Twitter in relation to two different STDs—chlamydia and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—as well as the nature of content tweeted, including how seriously the topic was treated.

Methods

We used the Twitter search engine to look for tweets posted worldwide from August 1-7, 2013, and from September 1-7, 2013, containing the words “chlamydia” or “HIV”, and the hashtags “#chlamydia” or “#HIV”. Tweeters were classified by two independent reviewers according to the type of avatar of the user (human, logo, or fantasy), the identification of the emitter (identifiable, semi-identifiable, or non-identifiable), and the source (private company, general media, scientific media, non-governmental, individual account, academic institution, government department, or undefined). Tweet messages were also independently classified according to their nature (serious or jokes/funny), and whether their main message was factual or of a personal nature/experience.

Results

A total of 694 tweets were posted by 426 different users during the first 7 days of August and September, containing the hashtags and/or simple words “chlamydia” and/or “HIV”. Jokes or funny tweets were more frequently posted by individual users (89%, 66/74), with a human avatar (81%, 60/74), from a non-identifiable user (72%, 53/74), and they were most frequently related to chlamydia (76%, 56/74). Serious tweets were most frequently posted by the general media (20.6%, 128/620), using a logo avatar (66.9%, 415/620), and with identifiable accounts (85.2%, 528/620). No government departments, non-governmental organizations, scientific media, or academic institutions posted a joke on STDs. A total of 104 of these analyzed tweets were re-tweeted messages, belonging to 68 unique tweets. The content was serious (99%, 67/68), factual (90%, 52/58), and about HIV (85%, 58/68).

Conclusions

Social media such as Twitter may be an important source of information regarding STDs provided that the topic is presented appropriately. Reassuringly, the study showed that almost 9/10 of tweets on STDs (chlamydia and HIV) were of serious content, and many of the tweets that were re-tweeted were facts. The jokes that were tweeted were mainly about chlamydia, and posted by non-identifiable emitters. We believe social media should be used to an even larger extent to disseminate correct information about STDs.     

Gender differences in metabolic syndrome risk factors among patients with serious mental illness

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components continue to increase among patients with serious mental illness. This cross‐sectional study investigated whether metabolic syndrome prevalence and risk factors differ between male and female patients with serious mental illness. In total, 260 eligible patients were recruited from two hospitals. The data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviour factors, biochemistry, and anthropometry were collected. Analyses were performed using multivariate logistic regression. Metabolic syndrome prevalence was 40.8% (35.1% in men and 46.8% in women). Among patients aged 40–49 years, metabolic syndrome prevalence was higher in men; however, the trend was reversed among patients aged 50 years or older. Notably, gender‐specific metabolic syndrome risk factors were observed. In men, they included low education level, high body mass index (BMI), prolonged illness, comorbid physical illness, and diagnosis of bipolar disorder, whereas they included being married, old age, and high BMI in women. Our findings suggest that mental health professionals should consider the gender‐ and age‐based metabolic syndrome prevalence trend in patients with serious mental illness when designing interventions for the study population to minimize metabolic syndrome prevalence.