Understanding college student spring break drinking: Demographic considerations,perceived norms and travel characteristics

Research has documented normative perceptions of others' alcohol use and how these related to increased rates of drinking and related problems among college students. Recently, research has expanded this concept to specific events (21st birthday drinking and tailgating). No studies to date examine the construct of normative perceptions of alcohol use for spring break (SB). SB is a known time of risk for increased alcohol use, and understanding whether students overestimate SB drinking norms, variables that influence norms perceptions (gender, ethnicity and travel) and whether SB norms relate to one's own drinking can inform future prevention and intervention efforts. We extend the literature by examining SB normative perceptions: (1) whether or not these perceptions are accurate and (2) the relationship to students' own drinking and related consequences. A random sample (N?=?1583) of students were asked about their SB drinking, consequences and norm perceptions. Students' SB drinking in this study was lower than their perception of typical student SB drinking (p?<?0.001), and women's perceptions were higher than men's (p?<?0.001). After adjusting for demographics and typical drinking, SB norms were significantly associated with SB drinking among those taking a trip over SB (p?<?0.001). After controlling for SB drinking, SB drinking norms were unrelated to consequences. Similar misperceptions exist for SB drinking. Prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing SB drinking and consequences, particularly for those planning a trip, may incorporate SB specific social norms education.     

Expanding the mutational spectrum of LZTR1 in schwannomatosis

Schwannomatosis is characterized by the development of multiple non-vestibular, non-intradermal schwannomas. Constitutional inactivating variants in two genes, SMARCB1 and, very recently, LZTR1, have been reported. We performed exome sequencing of 13 schwannomatosis patients from 11 families without SMARCB1 deleterious variants. We identified four individuals with heterozygous loss-of-function variants in LZTR1. Sequencing of the germline of 60 additional patients identified 18 additional heterozygous variants in LZTR1. We identified LZTR1 variants in 43% and 30% of familial (three of the seven families) and sporadic patients, respectively. In addition, we tested LZTR1 protein immunostaining in 22 tumors from nine unrelated patients with and without LZTR1 deleterious variants. Tumors from individuals with LZTR1 variants lost the protein expression in at least a subset of tumor cells, consistent with a tumor suppressor mechanism. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that molecular analysis of LZTR1 may contribute to the molecular characterization of schwannomatosis patients, in addition to NF2 mutational analysis and the detection of chromosome 22 losses in tumor tissue. It will be especially useful in differentiating schwannomatosis from mosaic Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). However, the role of LZTR1 in the pathogenesis of schwannomatosis needs further elucidation.     

Survey of US Correctional Institutions for Routine HCV Testing

To ascertain HCV testing practices among US prisons and jails, we conducted a survey study in 2012, consisting of medical directors of all US state prisons and 40 of the largest US jails, that demonstrated a minority of US prisons and jails conduct routine HCV testing. Routine voluntary HCV testing in correctional facilities is urgently needed to increase diagnosis, enable risk-reduction counseling and preventive health care, and facilitate evaluation for antiviral treatment.There are an estimated 4 to 7 million persons in the United States infected with HCV.1,2 Morbidity and mortality from HCV are increasing and in 2007, death from HCV exceeded that from HIV infection for the first time.3,4 Persons who inject drugs are at increased risk for HCV infection and for being incarcerated. Multiple studies have demonstrated high HCV prevalence rates among persons behind bars.5–7 In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for the development of comprehensive viral hepatitis services for incarcerated populations including offering testing, hepatitis B virus vaccination, education, and medical management in partnership with community providers.8Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releasing HCV testing recommendations in 1998 and subsequent recommendations for prevention and control of viral hepatitis within correctional facilities in 2003,9-10 recent studies estimate that 50% of persons infected with HCV are unaware of their infection,11–14 thus reducing opportunities for risk-reduction counseling and treatment. In response to this, the CDC updated HCV testing recommendations for the US general population in 2012, which added at least 1-time testing among persons born between 1945 and 1965, now commonly referred to as the “birth cohort” screening recommendations.15 However, the 2012 recommendations did not provide a specific testing recommendation for incarcerated individuals. Given the increased prevalence of HCV among criminal justice populations, we conducted a survey among US prisons and jails to gain a better understanding of current HCV testing practices within correctional facilities.     

Trends and Differences Among Three New Indicators of HIV Infection Progression

Objective

This study proposes three indicators of, and assesses the disparities and trends in, the risk of HIV infection progression among people living with diagnosed HIV infection in the United States.

Methods

Using data reported to national HIV surveillance through June 2012, we calculated the AIDS diagnosis hazard, HIV (including AIDS) death hazard, and AIDS death hazard for people living with diagnosed HIV infection for each calendar year from 1997 to 2010. We also calculated a stratified hazard in 2010 by age, race/ethnicity, mode of transmission, region of residence at diagnosis, and year of diagnosis.

Results

The risk of HIV infection progression among people living with diagnosed HIV infection decreased significantly from 1997 to 2010. The risks of progression to AIDS and death in 2010 were higher among African Americans and people of multiple races, males exposed through injection drug use (IDU) or heterosexual contact, females exposed through IDU, people residing in the South at diagnosis, and people diagnosed in 2009 compared with white individuals, men who have sex with men, females with infection attributed to heterosexual contact, those residing in the Northeast, and those diagnosed in previous years, respectively. People aged 15–29 years had the highest AIDS diagnosis hazard in 2010.

Conclusion

Continued efforts are needed to ensure early HIV diagnosis as well as initial linkage to and continued engagement in HIV medical care among all people living with HIV. Targeted interventions are needed to improve health-care and supportive services for those with worse health outcomes.In the United States, the number of people aged 13 years and older living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was estimated to be more than 1.1 million as of December 2010, a 9% increase from 2006.¹ For people living with HIV, increasing their access to care and eliminating disparities are primary goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and the Healthy People 2020 objectives.^2,3 Assuring that all people with HIV are diagnosed early, promptly linked to care, retained in care, and offered antiretroviral treatment is essential to achieve the ultimate goal of the continuum of care,⁴ leading to viral suppression, improved health, survival, and prevention of HIV transmission.Several studies have used national HIV surveillance data to examine the disparities and determinants of progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS; i.e., stage 3 HIV infection⁵) and death after HIV diagnosis. These studies have focused on individuals diagnosed in a certain time period and have examined the differences in time from HIV diagnoses to AIDS and death (i.e., the number of months/years from HIV diagnosis to AIDS or death) using survival analyses, including Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the Cox proportional hazard model, or the standardized relative risk.^6–8 However, previous studies have not assessed the risks of progression to AIDS and death among all people living with HIV, and have not reported the trends in these outcomes.To fill this gap, we propose in this study three cross-sectional indicators to estimate the risks of progression to AIDS and death in a calendar year after HIV diagnoses among people living with diagnosed HIV infection, regardless of their time of diagnosis (i.e., the year when an HIV infection was first diagnosed). The results allow for an annual assessment of the risks of HIV infection progression and can be used to monitor the trends in these outcomes among people living with HIV.Specifically, this study (1) examined the disparities in the risk of progression to AIDS in 2010 among people living with diagnosed HIV (not AIDS) infection at year-end 2009 (AIDS diagnosis hazard), the risk of death in 2010 among those living with diagnosed HIV (including AIDS) infection at year-end 2009 (HIV death hazard), and the risk of death in 2010 among individuals living with AIDS at year-end 2009 (AIDS death hazard); and (2) assessed the trends in the risks of HIV infection progression among people living with diagnosed HIV infection from 1997 to 2010 using the three indicators.     

Amino acid ionic liquids as catalysts in a solvent-free Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction

In the present work, we describe the preparation of ten amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) formed from ammonium salts as cations, derivatives of glycerol, and natural amino acids as anions. All of them are viscous oils, colorless or pale yellow, and hygroscopic at room temperature. They have appreciable solubility in many protic and aprotic polar solvents. The AAILs were used as catalysts in a Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reaction. The ionic liquids derivative from l-proline and l-histidine demonstrated the ability to catalyze the reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and aromatic aldehydes differently substituted in the absence of an additional co-catalyst under organic solvent-free conditions. The AAIL derivatives from l-valine, l-leucine, and l-tyrosine catalyzed the MBH reaction only in the presence of imidazole. The MBH adducts were obtained in moderate to good yields. Although the catalytic site in the ILs was in its enantiomerically pure form, all the MBH adducts were obtained in their racemic form.

In this work, we describe the preparation of ten amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs). The AAILs were used as catalysts in a Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) reaction. The MBH adducts were obtained from moderate to good yields and in their racemic form.