Describing the Situational Contexts of Sweetened Product Consumption in a Middle Eastern Canadian Community: Application of a Mixed Method Design

Little is known about the situational contexts in which individuals consume processed sources of dietary sugars. This study aimed to describe the situational contexts associated with the consumption of sweetened food and drink products in a Catholic Middle Eastern Canadian community. A two-stage exploratory sequential mixed-method design was employed with a rationale of triangulation. In stage 1 (n = 62), items and themes describing the situational contexts of sweetened food and drink product consumption were identified from semi-structured interviews and were used to develop the content for the Situational Context Instrument for Sweetened Product Consumption (SCISPC). Face validity, readability and cultural relevance of the instrument were assessed. In stage 2 (n = 192), a cross-sectional study was conducted and exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis as a means of furthering construct validation. The SCISPC reliability and predictive validity on the daily consumption of sweetened products were also assessed. In stage 1, six themes and 40-items describing the situational contexts of sweetened product consumption emerged from the qualitative analysis and were used to construct the first draft of the SCISPC. In stage 2, factor analysis enabled the clarification and/or expansion of the instrument's initial thematic structure. The revised SCISPC has seven factors and 31 items describing the situational contexts of sweetened product consumption. Initial validation of the instrument indicated it has excellent internal consistency and adequate test-retest reliability. Two factors of the SCISPC had predictive validity for the daily consumption of total sugar from sweetened products (Snacking and Energy demands) while the other factors (Socialization, Indulgence, Constraints, Visual Stimuli and Emotional needs) were rather associated to occasional consumption of these products.

Inhibition of Aurora kinases enhances chemosensitivity to temozolomide and causes radiosensitization in glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma remains one of the most devastating human malignancies, and despite therapeutic advances, there are no drugs that significantly improve the patient survival. Altered expression of the Aurora kinases was found in different malignancies, and their inhibition has been studied in cancer therapy. In this study, we analyzed the expression of Aurora A and Aurora B in glioblastoma samples and also analyzed whether the effects of Aurora kinase inhibition were associated with temozolomide or not on cell lines and primary cultures of glioblastoma. RT-PCR assays were used to determine the mRNA expression in glioblastoma tumor samples and in the cell lines. Cell proliferation was measured by XTT assay, and apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. Drug combination analyses were made based in Chou-Talalay method. Gamma radiation for clonogenic survival used the doses of 2, 4 and 6 Gy. Changes in Aurora B level were assessed by Western blot analysis. Aurora A and B were expressed in glioblastoma samples as well as in the glioblastoma cell lines (n = 6). Moreover, ZM447439, a selective Aurora kinase inhibitor, decreased the proliferation separately and synergistically with temozolomide in primary cultures and cell lines of glioblastoma. ZM also enhanced the effects of radiation on the two cell lines studied (U343 and U251), mainly when associated with TMZ in U343 cells. Treatment with ZM induced apoptotic cell death and diminished Aurora B protein level. These data suggest that Aurora kinase inhibition may be a target for glioblastoma treatment and could be used as adjuvant to chemo- and radiotherapy.

Phylogenetic analysis of complete genome sequences of hepatitis B virus from an Afro-Colombian community: presence of HBV F3/A1 recombinant strain

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most prevalent viral infections in humans and represents a serious public health problem. In Colombia, our group reported recently the presence of subgenotypes F3, A2 and genotype G in Bogota. The aim of this study was to characterize the HBV genotypes circulating in Quibdo, the largest Afro-descendant community in Colombia. Sixty HBsAg-positive samples were studied. A fragment of 1306 bp (S/POL) was amplified by nested PCR. Positive samples to S/POL fragment were submitted to PCR amplification of the HBV complete genome. Findings: The distribution of HBV genotypes was: A1 (52.17%), E (39.13%), D3 (4.3%) and F3/A1 (4.3%). An HBV recombinant strain subgenotype F3/A1 was found for the first time. Conclusions: This study is the first analysis of complete HBV genome sequences from Afro-Colombian population. It was found an important presence of HBV/A1 and HBV/E genotypes. A new recombinant strain of HBV genotype F3/A1 was reported in this population. This fact may be correlated with the introduction of these genotypes in the times of slavery.