Reticence in disclosure of HIV infection and reasons for bereavement: impact on perinatally infected adolescents’ mental health and understanding of HIV treatment and prevention in Johannesburg,South Africa

Survival rates of perinatally infected HIV-positive adolescents (PIA) are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a gap in understanding how disclosure and bereavement have an impact on PIA beliefs and understanding of their HIV infection and its management. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 purposively selected adolescents aged 13–19 years from 5 public health clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa. Data were analysed using NVivo 10 using a thematic approach. PIA experience incomplete disclosure both of their HIV status and reasons for their bereavements, which limits their understanding of how they became infected, vertical transmission and prevention options like prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Most participants were orphaned and were experiencing complicated grieving (i.e., engaged in unresolved tasks of grieving) which had a negative impact on their mental health, and ability to accept their HIV status and adhere to treatment. PIA need improved communication regarding vertical transmission and how they became HIV-positive, as well as reasons for death of their loved ones to properly understand their HIV status and engage effectively in management. Honest communication about how relatives died and truthful engagement in the process of disclosure of HIV status is necessary to reduce stigma and complicated grieving, and improve mental health in this population.     

London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis

Licensed London taxi drivers show that humans have a remarkable capacity to acquire and use knowledge of a large complex city to navigate within it. Gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus relative to controls have been reported to accompany this expertise. While these gray matter differences could result from using and updating spatial representations, they might instead be influenced by factors such as self-motion, driving experience, and stress. We examined the contribution of these factors by comparing London taxi drivers with London bus drivers, who were matched for driving experience and levels of stress, but differed in that they follow a constrained set of routes. We found that compared with bus drivers, taxi drivers had greater gray matter volume in mid-posterior hippocampi and less volume in anterior hippocampi. Furthermore, years of navigation experience correlated with hippocampal gray matter volume only in taxi drivers, with right posterior gray matter volume increasing and anterior volume decreasing with more navigation experience. This suggests that spatial knowledge, and not stress, driving, or self-motion, is associated with the pattern of hippocampal gray matter volume in taxi drivers. We then tested for functional differences between the groups and found that the ability to acquire new visuo-spatial information was worse in taxi drivers than in bus drivers. We speculate that a complex spatial representation, which facilitates expert navigation and is associated with greater posterior hippocampal gray matter volume, might come at a cost to new spatial memories and gray matter volume in the anterior hippocampus.     

In vivo and in vitro antitumor activity of butyroyloxymethyl-diethyl phosphate (AN-7), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in human prostate cancer

AN-7, a prodrug of butyric acid, induced histone hyperacetylation and differentiation and inhibited proliferation of human prostate 22Rv1 cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. In nude mice implanted with these cells, 50 mg/kg AN-7 given orally thrice a week led to inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis, tumor regression in >25% of animals and increased survival. Median time to the experimental end point (tumor volume 2 cm3 or death) in the untreated was 52 days, and average tumor volume was 0.8 +/- 0.18 cm3. At the same time, 94.4% of AN-7-treated mice survived and had average tumor volumes of 0.37 +/- 0.1 cm3. PSA expression was a useful marker for 22Rv1 lung metastasis detection. Sizeable metastases positively stained for PSA and limited air gaps were found in lungs of untreated mice. In animals treated with AN-7, lung morphology appeared normal. Primary tumors of treated animals were highly positive for PSA and had an elevated level of p21 and the proapoptotic protein Bax. Sections taken from AN-7-treated animals, examined under an electron microscope, exhibited condensed chromatin and apoptotic bodies. PSA serum levels were higher in untreated compared to treated animals and correlated with tumor volume. Since prolonged oral administration with 50 mg/kg or a single oral dose of 1.2 g/kg AN-7 did not cause adverse effects and the former exhibited significant anticancer activity, AN-7 is likely to display a high therapeutic index and may be beneficial for prostate cancer patients.     

Echinamines A and B, first aminated hydroxynaphthazarins from the sea urchin Scaphechinus mirabilis

Two new spinochromes, echinamines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the sea urchin Scaphechinus mirabilis. Compounds 1 and 2 represent the first examples of natural polyhydroxynaphthazarins with a primary amine group. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by analysis of spectroscopic data and synthesis of their dimethyl ethers.     

Perceptions of community pharmacists to implementing technologies in the workplace: an exploratory study

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background The proliferation of different technologies in pharmacies has begun to change the role and work of pharmacists; however, while workplace...