Motivations and Barriers to Routine HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in New York City

AIDS and Behavior - In-depth qualitative interviews explored the experiences and understandings of men 18–39 years old who have sex with men that could facilitate or prevent HIV...     

Effect of meciadanol on gastric secretion and aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury in humans

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a newly synthesized flavonoid, meciadanol, on gastric secretion and on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury in healthy humans. In vitro experiments have shown that meciadanol (INN proposed) inhibits histidine decarboxylase in gastric cells. In our study meciadanol did not affect either basal or pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion or pepsin secretion and did not produce any endoscopic or histological changes in the stomach or duodenum. Meciadanol prevented aspirin-induced microbleeding and aspirin-induced DNA loss, suggesting that gastric mucosal histamine is involved in the mucosal injury caused by aspirin.     

A recalcitrant, erythematous, desquamating disorder associated with toxin-producing staphylococci in patients with AIDS.

Although staphylococcal infections are common in patients with AIDS, staphylococcal toxin-related disorders have rarely been described. Five cases of a staphylococcal toxin-associated syndrome characterized by prolonged erythema, extensive cutaneous desquamation, hypotension, tachycardia, and multiple organ involvement are described in patients with AIDS. These illnesses were recurrent and recalcitrant with a mean duration of 50 days. Toxic shock syndrome toxin-1-producing staphylococci were isolated from three and staphylococcal enterotoxins B and A from one patient each. Sources of organisms were blood, one patient, and soft tissues and nasal accessory sinuses, two patients each. Three of the five patients died of renal failure and central nervous system abnormalities. One survivor required intubation for respiratory failure. All individuals manifested a marked diminution of CD4+ cells. Other laboratory abnormalities included azotemia and prolongation of partial thromboplastin time. Oliguria occurred in three patients. Thus, this recalcitrant erythematous desquamative disorder appears to be a variant of staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome in certain subsets of immunocompromised individuals.     

Bcr/abl+ autologous dendritic cells for vaccination in chronic myeloid leukemia

In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) ex vivo generated DC are characterized by constitutive expression of bcr/abl and possibly other yet undefined leukemia-associated antigens, since these DC share a common progeny with leukemic cells. Induction of anti-leukemic T cell responses has been described in vitro. For a phase I vaccination study, autologous bcr/abl+ DC are generated under GMP conditions mainly from monocyte precursors in chronic phase CML patients. Lin-, CD80+, CD86+, CD83+, DR+ DC could be generated in sufficient numbers for s.c. vaccination with 1 x 10(6)-5 x 10(7) DC. Using monocyte precursors, the yield of DC per seeded PBMC was in the range of 1-6%. Furthermore, we could demonstrate in vitro that the T cell stimulatory ability of CD34+-derived DC can be augmented by a factor 2-3 by retroviral transduction with a gene coding for interleukin-7. DC-based vaccination strategies are a promising clinical approach, particularly as postremission immunotherapy in the setting of autologous stem cell transplantation.     

Parent's anxiety links household stress and young children's behavioral dysregulation

Young children rely heavily on their caregivers to gain information about the environment, especially during times of duress. Therefore, considering parental assessments of behavior in the context of stressful environments may better facilitate our understanding of the longstanding association between early environmental stressors and changes in child behavior and physiology. Confirming many previous reports, a higher degree of household stress exposure was associated with elevated mental health symptoms in 2‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 115; anxiety and externalizing behaviors), which were verified in a subset of children with laboratory‐based behaviors (N = 46). However, these associations were mediated by parental anxiety symptoms, which were also associated with increased cortisol levels in children. A closer look at the stressors indicated that it was the adult‐targeted, and not the child‐targeted, stressors that correlated most with children's behavior problems. These results highlight the importance of considering the mediating effect of parents, when examining associations between household stress and young children's behavioral development.     

Early maternal separation,nightmares, and bad dreams: Results from the Hungarostudy Epidemiological Panel

Early maternal separation is a particularly stressful experience. Current models of nightmare production emphasize negative emotionality as having a central role in determining dream affect. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that persons who experienced early maternal separation (before one year of age and lasting at least one month) report more frequent nightmare experiences and bad dreams as adults. In the frame of the Hungarostudy Epidemiological Panel, 5020 subjects were interviewed. Significant associations were found between early maternal separation and both frequent nightmare experience in adulthood and increased frequency of oppressive and bad dreams. Current depression scores fully mediated the association between early separation and nightmares, but not the association between early separation and negative dream affect. We interpret these findings as a trait-like enhancement of negative emotionality in adults who experienced early maternal separation. This enhancement influences the content of dreams and, when it takes the form of depression, also influences the frequency of nightmares.     

Are self‐reported risk‐taking behavior and helmet use associated with injury causes among skiers and snowboarders?

Over the last 10 years, ski helmet use has steadily increased worldwide. According to the “risk compensation theory,” however, studies found that up to one third of skiers and snowboarders self‐reported to engage in more risk taking when wearing a ski helmet. Therefore, to evaluate whether self‐reported risk taking and ski helmet use affect accident causes on ski slopes, more than 2000 injured skiers and snowboarders were interviewed during the 2011/2012 winter season about accident causes and potential intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors. Chi‐square tests revealed that ski helmet use did not significantly differ between self‐reported risky and cautious people (81% vs 83%). Multivariate regression analysis revealed younger age groups [odds ratios (ORs) 1.8–1.9, P < 005], male sex (OR 2.4, P < 0.001), Austrian nationality (2.2, P < 0.001), higher skill level (1.7, P < 0.001), and off‐slope skiing (OR 2.2, P = 0.060) to be predictive for a risky behavior on ski slopes. Neither the use of skis or snowboards nor accident causes were significantly associated with a riskier behavior on ski slopes. In conclusion, self‐reported risk‐taking behavior and ski helmet use seem not to be associated with accident causes leading to an injury among recreational skiers and snowboarders.