Clinical measurement in assessing obesity and the prediction of biomarkers in association to cardovascular diseases and type-II diabetes

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HIV, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic arsenic exposure co-exist in a positive synergy

Recent epidemiological evidences indicate that arsenic exposure increases risk of atherosclerosis, cardio vascular diseases (CVD) such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease (CAD) and microangiopathies in addition to the serious global health concern related to its carcinogenic effects. In experiments on animals, acute and chronic exposure to arsenic directly correlates with cardiac tachyarrhythmia, and atherogenesis in a concentration and duration dependent manner. Moreover, the other effects of long-term arsenic exposure include induction of non-insulin dependent diabetes by mechanisms yet to be understood. On the other hand, there are controversial issues, gaps in knowledge, and future research priorities in accelerated incidences of CVD and mortalities in patients with HIV who are under long-termanti-retroviral therapy (ART). Although, both HIV infection itself and various components of ART initiate significant pathological alterations in the myocardium and the vasculature, simultaneous environmental exposure to arsenic which is more convincingly being recognized as a facilitator of HIV viral cycling in the infected immune cells, may contribute an additional layer of adversity in these patients. A high degree of suspicion and early screening may allow appropriate interventional guidelines to improve the quality of lives of those affected. In this mini-review which have been fortified with our own preliminary data, we will discuss some of the key current understating of chronic arsenic exposure, and its possible impact on the accelerated HIV/ART induced CVD. The review will conclude with notes on recent developments in mathematical modeling in this field that probabilistically forecast incidence prevalence as functions of aging and life style parameters, most of which vary with time themselves; this interdisciplinary approach provides a complementary kernel to conventional biology.

Framing infectious diseases and U.S. public opinion

The United States has been increasingly concerned with the transnational threat posed by infectious diseases. Effective policy implementation to contain the spread of these diseases requires active engagement and support of the American public. To influence American public opinion and enlist support for related domestic and foreign policies, both domestic agencies and international organizations have framed infectious diseases as security threats, human rights disasters, economic risks, and as medical dangers. This study investigates whether American attitudes and opinions about infectious diseases are influenced by how the issue is framed. It also asks which issue frame has been most influential in shaping public opinion about global infectious diseases when people are exposed to multiple frames. The impact of media frames on public perception of infectious diseases is examined through content analysis of newspaper reports. Stories on SARS, avian flu, and HIV/AIDS were sampled from coverage in The New York Times and The Washington Post between 1999 and 2007. Surveys of public opinion on infectious diseases in the same time period were also drawn from databases like Health Poll Search and iPoll. Statistical analysis tests the relationship between media framing of diseases and changes in public opinion. Results indicate that no one frame was persuasive across all diseases. The economic frame had a significant effect on public opinion about SARS, as did the biomedical frame in the case of avian flu. Both the security and human rights frames affected opinion and increased public support for policies intended to prevent or treat HIV/AIDS. The findings also address the debate on the role and importance of domestic public opinion as a factor in domestic and foreign policy decisions of governments in an increasingly interconnected world. The public is able to make reasonable evaluations of the frames and the domestic and foreign policy issues emphasized in the frames.

Effects of allergic diseases and age on the composition of serum IgG glycome in children

Glycan analysis was partly supported by European Commission GlycoBioM (contract #259869), IBD-BIOM (contract #305479), HighGlycan (contract #278535), MIMOmics (contract #305280), HTP-GlycoMet (contract #324400) and IntegraLife (contract #315997) grants. The SEATON cohort was partly funded by the UK Medical Research Council (contract #80219) and Asthma UK (contract #00/011 and 02/017) grants.

Impact of oral diseases and disorders on oral health-related quality of life of preschool children

BACKGROUND The presence of oral diseases and disorders can produce an impact on the quality of life of preschool children and their parents, affecting their oral health and well-being. However, socioeconomic factors could confound this association, but it has not been yet tested at this age. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of early childhood caries (ECC), traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and malocclusions on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children between 2 and 5 years of age adjusted by socioeconomic factors. METHODS Parents of 260 children answered the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) (six domains) on their perception of the children's OHRQoL and socioeconomic conditions. Two calibrated dentists (κ>0.8) examined the severity of ECC according to dmft index, and children were categorized into: 0=caries free; 1-5=low severity; ≥6=high severity. TDI and malocclusions were examined according to Andreasen & Andreasen (1994) classification and for the presence or absence of three anterior malocclusion traits (AMT), respectively. OHRQoL was measured through ECOHIS domain and total scores, and poisson regression was used to associate the different factors with the outcome. RESULTS In each domain and overall ECOHIS scores, the severity of ECC showed a negative impact on OHRQoL (P<0.001). TDI and AMT did not show a negative impact on OHRQoL nor in each domain (P>0.05). The increase in the child's age, higher household crowding, lower family income and mother working out of home were significantly associated with OHRQoL (P<0.05). The multivariate adjusted model showed that the high severity of ECC (RR=3.81; 95% CI=2.66, 5.46; P<0.001) was associated with greater negative impact on OHRQoL, while high family income was a protective factor for OHRQoL (RR=0.93; 95% CI=0.87, 0.99; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The severity of ECC and a lower family income had a negative impact on the OHRQoL of preschool children and their parents.