The path to good health: Shifting the dialogue and promoting social ecological thinking.

The purpose of our research was to assess whether an intervention could produce changes in critical consciousness (CC) relative to participants' understanding of social influences on health and individual health behaviors. The intervention was a 4-min animation, entitled The Path to Good Health , that described how factors in our social environment influence individuals in a variety of ways and thereby our health. We used the same sampling and intervention strategies with two discrete cohorts of participants (Initial study: June 2018, n = 249; Retest study: October 2019, n = 315), who were recruited and incentivized through Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. We measured direction and extent of change from pre-to post-intervention in four key constructs of CC (Passive Adaptation, Emotional Engagement, Cognitive Awakening, and Intentions to Act) using the 4-Factor Critical Consciousness Scale (4-FCCS), and we investigated differential effects of the intervention related to demographics of participants, including political typology. We also assessed concurrent and predictive validity of the (4-FCCS). Changes of CC subscale scores from pretest to posttest moved in the expected direction in both the Initial and Retest studies; Cohen's d effect sizes were medium to very large in both studies. Overall, findings suggest the video intervention was effective at improving CC among participants drawn from the general population. We demonstrated that it is possible to influence people's cognitive-emotional interpretations in as little as 4 min, regardless of one's political ideology, and that the (4-FCCS) is sufficiently sensitive to measure changes in CC. This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief intervention can broaden cognitive-emotional interpretations from an over-emphasis on personal responsibility for individual health to an appreciation of the impact of social ecological factors on population health.

Development and validation of the 4-Factor Critical Consciousness Scale.

Assessment of critical consciousness among individuals can provide a proxy measure of the readiness of communities, and individual decision-makers within, for social changes that address root causes of ill health. Critical consciousness, as conceived by Paolo Freire, emerges as a consequence of praxis. This iterative, recursive process of reflection and co-created knowledge enables community members to identify salient issues and the actions they want to take to address those issues. Public health and other social science researchers who engage in social- and population-level intervention work need a validated instrument that measures critical consciousness. Our purpose was to develop an instrument that can measure 4 key constructs of critical consciousness (passive adaptation, emotional engagement, cognitive awakening, and intentions to act) in an individual, relative to any salient community issue. We conducted two studies (Initial: June 2018; Retest: October 2019) to develop and validate this instrument. The same sampling strategy was used for both studies, but each study was conducted with a discrete cohort of participants. We used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to recruit and incentivize study participants. Data from the Initial study were used in an iterative process to evaluate construct validity and test our theoretical assumptions. Exploratory factor analyses were used to determine the best model fit that gave the greatest subscale reliability and validity. In the Retest study, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and construct validity was verified. Our results indicated adequate construct validity as evidenced by good model fit. Additionally, the good fit of the data to the 4-factor structure confirmed our theoretical understanding of critical consciousness.

Revisiting the Roots and Aims of Photovoice.

Since its introduction, photovoice has been implemented in numerous fields with a wide array of outcomes of interest, but has the method been implemented in a way that is consistent with its initial aims in mind? From Caroline Wang and Mary Ann Burris's initial 1994 project, photovoice has demonstrated power to harness visual imagery and stories within a participatory empowerment process and established a new tool for the profession for understanding community members' lived experience and needs, raising the critical consciousness of communities, and advocating for actions leading to social change. Based in Freirean philosophy, feminist theory, and documentary photography, photovoice engages community members to identify, represent, and change their community by means of photography, dialogue, and action. Public health can benefit when researchers and practitioners more carefully conceptualize the intended aims of each photovoice effort. The purpose of this article is to consider the varied applications of photovoice and propose a classification system that encapsulates its wide-ranging aims. Close examination of foundational literature and previous applications of photovoice suggest the following categories for framing the application of the method; specifically, photovoice for (a) photovention, (b) community assessment, (c) community capacity building, and (d) advocacy for change. Full implementations of photovoice have the capacity to illuminate complex real-world issues leading to advocacy for policy, systems, and environmental change. It is our hope that the proposed framing clarifies the language used to discuss photovoice and its outcomes, distinguishes its various uses and stated aims, and maximizes its impact in future applications.

The Photovoice Decision Tree: Legal Considerations and Ethical Implications for Photographs and Captions.

This article presents a photovoice decision tree that serves as a guide for making lawful and ethical decisions during the portions of the photovoice process that involve photograph selection, caption development, and public display of photographs and captions. Lawful and ethical considerations encompass privacy of person, privacy of place, illegal acts and obscenity, defamation, representation of truth versus actual malice, and opinion versus assertion of fact, but do not address pursuing and obtaining institutional review board approval for photovoice projects and/or other important steps of photovoice projects that are beyond the scope of this article. The decision tree presumes that a comprehensive photo release process was completed with all photovoice participants and collected from any individual captured within a photograph. The decision tree has important implications for research and practice, including movement of photovoice practitioners beyond the required institutional review board approval for research projects to consider lawful and ethical issues associated with photograph selection, caption development, and public display of photographs and captions. This decision tree can serve as a meaningful tool for all photovoice practitioners and participants to guide their lawful and ethical decisions.

Signalling of multiple interleukin (IL)-17 family cytokines via IL-17 receptor A drives psoriasis-related inflammatory pathways.

BACKGROUND: The interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17 immune axis is of central importance in psoriasis. However, the impact of IL-17 family cytokines other than IL-17A in psoriasis has not been fully established. OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the contribution of IL-17 family cytokines in psoriasis. METHODS: To address the expression and localization of IL-17 family cytokines, lesional and nonlesional skin samples from patients with psoriasis were analysed by several complementary methods, including quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunoassays, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Mechanistic studies assessing the functional activity of IL-17 family cytokines were performed using ex vivo cultured human skin biopsies and primary human keratinocytes. RESULTS: We demonstrated that IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17A/F and IL-17C are expressed at increased levels in psoriasis lesional skin and induce overlapping gene expression responses in ex vivo cultured human skin that correlate with the transcriptomic signature of psoriasis skin. Furthermore, we showed that brodalumab, in contrast to ixekizumab, normalizes gene expression responses induced by the combination of IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17A/F and IL-17C in human keratinocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Several IL-17 ligands signalling through IL-17RA are overexpressed in psoriasis skin and induce similar psoriasis-related inflammatory pathways demonstrating their relevance in relation to therapeutic intervention in psoriasis.

Rethinking Addiction.

Addiction is a complex and challenging condition with many contributing factors. Although addictive behaviors appear to be individual choices, behavior alterations cannot be addressed successfully without considering characteristics of the physical and social environments in which individuals live, work, and play. Exposure to chronic psychosocial stressors and the physiological response of individuals to their external environment activates the brain's neuroendocrine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, with profound conditioning effects on behavior. This brief synopsis describes the social determinants of health; examines the interconnectedness of the psychosocial environment, behavior, and subsequent health outcomes; discusses the environment's critical influence on brain plasticity, adaptation and functioning; and explores additional factors that complicate adolescent addiction. Because the environment is both a determinant of behavior and an opportunity for intervention, in the context of addictions, it is important to incorporate these factors in the analysis of risk and design of early interventions for prevention and amelioration of addiction.

Human microbiota, blood group antigens, and disease.

Far from being just "bugs in our guts," the microbiota interacts with the body in previously unimagined ways. Research into the genome and the microbiome has revealed that the human body and the microbiota have a long-established but only recently recognized symbiotic relationship; homeostatic balance between them regulates body function. That balance is fragile, easily disturbed, and plays a fundamental role in human health-our very survival depends on the healthy functioning of these microorganisms. Increasing rates of cardiovascular, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases, as well as epidemics in obesity and diabetes in recent decades are believed to be explained, in part, by unintended effects on the microbiota from vaccinations, poor diets, environmental chemicals, indiscriminate antibiotic use, and "germophobia." Discovery and exploration of the brain-gut-microbiota axis have provided new insights into functional diseases of the gut, autoimmune and stress-related disorders, and the role of probiotics in treating certain affective disorders; it may even explain some aspects of autism. Research into dietary effects on the human gut microbiota led to its classification into three proposed enterotypes, but also revealed the surprising role of blood group antigens in shaping those populations. Blood group antigens have previously been associated with disease risks; their subsequent association with the microbiota may reveal mechanisms that lead to development of nutritional interventions and improved treatment modalities. Further exploration of associations between specific enteric microbes and specific metabolites will foster new dietary interventions, treatment modalities, and genetic therapies, and inevitably, their application in personalized healthcare strategies. This article is categorized under: Laboratory Methods and Technologies > Metabolomics Translational, Genomic, and Systems Medicine > Translational Medicine Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease.

Hypertension in Low-Income Adolescents.

Disadvantaged adolescents are at higher risk for undiagnosed and untreated obesity and hypertension. Using nurse-measured weight, height, and blood pressure (BP) as well as self-reported age and activity/lifestyle behaviors, we assessed the prevalence of obesity and hypertension in 573 adolescent patients aged 13.0 to 17.9 years (females: n = 267, 46.6%; males: n = 306, 53.4%) from a clinic serving low-income, ethnically diverse pediatric patients. Body mass index distribution was as follows: 11, underweight (1.9%); 330, healthy weight (57.6%); 105, overweight (18.3%); and 127, obese (22.2%). The age-adjusted height percentile was normally distributed, but distribution by BP category was 326 normotensive (56.9%), 147 prehypertensive (25.7%), 60 with stage 1 hypertension (10.5%), and 40 with stage 2 hypertension (7.0%). Activity and lifestyle behaviors did not adequately explain obesity and hypertension rates. Efforts to prevent/reduce childhood overweight, obesity, and hypertension in underserved populations need to include dietary education, weight control interventions, and physical activity programs specifically tailored to overweight/obese youth and parents.

Blood type biochemistry and human disease.

Associations between blood type and disease have been studied since the early 1900s when researchers determined that antibodies and antigens are inherited. In the 1950s, the chemical identification of the carbohydrate structure of surface antigens led to the understanding of biosynthetic pathways. The blood type is defined by oligosaccharide structures, which are specific to the antigens, thus, blood group antigens are secondary gene products, while the primary gene products are various glycosyltransferase enzymes that attach the sugar molecules to the oligosaccharide chain. Blood group antigens are found on red blood cells, platelets, leukocytes, plasma proteins, certain tissues, and various cell surface enzymes, and also exist in soluble form in body secretions such as breast milk, seminal fluid, saliva, sweat, gastric secretions, urine, and amniotic fluid. Recent advances in technology, biochemistry, and genetics have clarified the functional classifications of human blood group antigens, the structure of the A, B, H, and Lewis determinants and the enzymes that produce them, and the association of blood group antigens with disease risks. Further research to identify differences in the biochemical composition of blood group antigens, and the relationship to risks for disease, can be important for the identification of targets for the development of nutritional intervention strategies, or the identification of druggable targets. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2016, 8:517-535. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1355 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Risk Factors in Adolescent Hypertension.

Hypertension is a complex and multifaceted disease, with many contributing factors. While diet and nutrition are important influences, the confounding effects of overweight and obesity, metabolic and genetic factors, racial and ethnic predispositions, socioeconomic status, cultural influences, growth rate, and pubertal stage have even more influence and make diagnosis quite challenging. The prevalence of hypertension in adolescents far exceeds the numbers who have been diagnosed; studies have found that 75% or more go undiagnosed. This literature review summarizes the challenges of blood pressure classification in adolescents, discusses the impact of these confounding influences, and identifies actions that will improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes.

Bacillus thuringiensis protein transfer between rootstock and scion of grafted poplar.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ac protein is a toxin against different leaf-eating lepidopteran insects that attack poplar trees. In the present study, the mode of migration of the Bt-Cry1Ac protein within poplar grafts was investigated. Grafting was done using Pb29 (transgenic poplar 741 with cry1Ac genes), CC71 (transgenic poplar 741 with cry3A genes), non-transgenic poplar 741 and non-transgenic Populus tomentosa, either as scion or as rootstock. In order to detect migration of Bt-Cry1Ac protein from one portion of the graft union to different tissues in the grafted plant, ELISA analysis was employed to assess the content of Bt-Cry1Ac protein in the phloem, xylem, pith and leaves of the grafted poplar. To further verify migration of Bt-Cry1Ac protein, Clostera anachoreta larvae, which are susceptible to Bt-Cry1Ac protein, were fed leaves from the control graft (i.e., graft portion that originally did not contain Bt-Cry1Ac protein). The results showed that Bt-Cry1Ac protein was transported between rootstock and scion mainly through the phloem. Migration of Bt-Cry1Ac protein in the grafted union was also evidenced in that the leaves of the control graft did have a lethal effect on C. anachoreta larvae in laboratory feeding experiments.

Meta-analysis of B type natriuretic peptide and N-terminal pro B natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis of clinical heart failure and population screening for left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: We set out to review the validity of tests for B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro BNP (NTproBNP) in the diagnosis of clinical heart failure (HF) in primary care and hospital settings and to examine the effect of age. We also examined the accuracy of the test in population screening for left ventricular systolic dysfunction. METHODS: Medline and Embase were searched systematically till June 2005. Forty-seven studies were identified for systematic review and 27 were included in meta-analyses. Test performance was summarized as the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). As a secondary data analysis, this paper does not require ethical approval. RESULTS: In groups of symptomatic patients with average age less than 80 years, the summary DOR of 27 for BNP equates to a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 84% in the detection of clinical HF. Summary of head-to-head studies shows BNP is a better indicator than NTproBNP. The performance of both tests decreased with the age of patients, the DOR declining by a factor of 2.0 for BNP and 2.5 for NTproBNP for each decade of increasing age. BNP correlated better to clinical status than to echocardiographic parameters, and test performance was similar in acute inpatient and general practice settings. CONCLUSION: Tests for BNP are helpful in the diagnosis of clinical HF or in screening for left ventricular systolic dysfunction and are superior to NTproBNP. In the clinical setting, test performance declined with increasing patient age.

[Study on effect of ABA, PEG4000 and AgNO3 on number of somatic embryos of Larix Principis-Rupprechtii by 311-A regression design].

This paper, the effects of ABA, PEG400 and AgNO3 on the number of somatic embryos of Larix Principis-Rupprechtii were carried out by 311-A regression design. The regression equation was established which expresses the number of somatic embryos of Larix Principis-Rupprechtii as function, and the ABA, PEG400 and AgNO3 on as variable respectively. Using the regression equation, the single factor effect and mutual effect between the number of somatic embryos of Larix Principis-Rupprechtii and ABA, PEG400 and AgNO3 was studied; the optimum concentration recipes can be obtained by computer processing, that are ABA: 18.9138 mg/L, PEG400: 88.8007 g/L and AgNO3: 10.7513 mg/L, the target somatic embryos number is 107.5278 each gram callus. The results of experiment showed that this method is simple, practical and rapid for selecting several hormone category and concentration recipes media of conifer somatic embryogenesis.

Assessment of the nucleotide sequence variability in the bovine T-cell receptor alpha delta joining gene region.

The sequence of 2,193 nucleotides from the bovine T-cell receptor alpha/delta joining gene region (TCRADJ) was determined and compared with the corresponding human and murine sequences. The identity was 75.3% for the comparison of the Bos taurus vs. the Homo sapiens sequence and 63.8% for the Bos taurus vs. the Mus musculus sequence. This comparison permitted the identification of the putatively functional elements within the bovine sequence. Direct sequencing of 2,110 nucleotides in nine animals revealed 12 variable sites. Estimates, based on direct sequencing in three Holstein Friesian animals, for the two measures of sequence variability, nucleotide polymorphism (u) and nucleotide diversity (p), were 0.00050 (60.00036) and 0.00077 (60.00056), respectively. The test statistic, Tajima's D, for the comparison of the two measures indicates that the difference between u and p is close to significance (P < 0.05), suggesting the possibility of selective forces acting on the studied genomic region. Allelic variation at 5 of the 12 variable sites was analysed in 359 animals (48 Anatolian Black, 56 Braunvieh, 115 Fleckvieh, 47 Holstein Friesian, 50 Simmental and 43 Pinzgauer) using the oligonucleotide ligation assay (OLA) in combination with the enzyme linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA). Nine unambiguous haplotypes could be derived based on animals with a maximum of one heterozygous site. Four to seven haplotypes were present in the different breeds. When taking into account the frequencies of the haplotypes in the different breeds, especially in Anatolian Black, an ancestral cattle population, we could establish the likely phylogenetic relationships of the haplotypes. Such haplotype trees are the basis for cladistic candidate gene analysis. Our study demonstrates that the systematic search of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is useful for analysing all aspects of variability of a given genomic region.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and long R(3)IGF-I differently affect development and messenger ribonucleic acid abundance for IGF-binding proteins and type I IGF receptors in in vitro produced bovine embryos.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is a complex network, including ligands (IGF-I and -II), binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to -6), and receptors, of which the type I IGF receptor (IGF-I-R) is important for transmission of most biological effects of IGFs. As IGFs are secreted in large amounts by the female reproductive tract, it has been hypothesized that maternal IGFs may affect embryonic growth and differentiation in a fine-tuned manner, involving modulation of IGF effects by embryonic IGFBP and IGF-I-R expression. To address this point, we cultured in vitro produced bovine embryos in a chemically defined culture system in the presence (100 ng/ml) of recombinant human IGF-I, long R(3)IGF-I (LR(3)), or without IGF supplementation (control). The affinity of LR(3) to IGFBPs measured by competition assays and Western ligand blots is at least 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of IGF-I. LR(3) was most efficient in stimulating early embryonic cleavage, whereas further development was most potently supported by IGF-I. Total cell numbers of blastocysts were highest in the presence of LR(3) (105 +/- 4), followed by IGF-I (96 +/- 5), and the control group (91 +/- 3; P < 0.05). Differential cell staining of blastocysts revealed that these differences were mainly represented by trophectoderm cell numbers. Analysis of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression for IGFBPs and IGF-I-R was performed by RT-real-time PCR, using expression of the nonregulated housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase for normalization. Embryonic IGFBP-2 mRNA levels in the LR(3) treatment group were 1.7-fold (P < 0.001) and 2.8-fold (P < 0.001) higher than those in the IGF-I and control groups, respectively. IGFBP-5 mRNA levels were about 2-fold (P < 0.001) elevated in both IGF treatment groups, with slightly (P < 0.05) higher levels in IGF-I- than in LR(3)-treated embryos. Similarly, IGFBP-3 mRNA abundance was increased (P < 0.05) in embryos from the IGF-I vs. the LR(3) culture system. IGF-I-R mRNA levels were reduced by IGF-I (80% of control; P < 0.01), but increased by LR(3) (1.3-fold vs. control; P < 0.001). These data show that the affinity for IGFBPs of IGF peptides is relevant for their effects on preimplantation embryos and affects different parameters, i.e. development, cell numbers, and mRNA expression for components of the IGF system, in different directions.

Hospital separations indicate increasing need for prevention of diabetic foot complications in central Australia.

The aim of this study was to guide service provision for prevention of diabetic foot complications through the analysis of hospital separation data for those with diabetes in central Australia. We reviewed the hospital separation data for central Australia from 1992 to 1997 for adults known to be diabetic and those with diabetic foot complications. Foot complications were identified from International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision (ICD-9) codes. Additionally, we assessed the proportion of cases with diabetic foot, identified by ICD-9 coding and confirmed by record review, that were identified by Australian National-Diagnostic Related Group-Version 3 (AN-DRG-3) coding. Separations with diabetes doubled from 352 in 1992 to 796 in 1997. This represents an increase from 1232 to 2521 separations per 100,000 people over 15 years of age. Separations with foot complications increased threefold from 28 in 1992 to 90 in 1997, a rate increase from 98 to 285 per 100,000 people over 15 years of age. The proportion of diabetes separations that had foot complications remained around 10% during the 6 year period. Aboriginal people made up 89% of the individuals with foot complications and 91% of separations for diabetic foot. Foot complications were predominantly of the more acute type (90%), amenable to early intervention. The AN-DRG-3 code for diabetic foot identified only 59% (37/63 in 1997) of the separations identified by the ICD-9 codes, and admitted primarily for foot complications in Alice Springs Hospital. The known burden of hospital care for diabetes and diabetic foot complications has increased markedly in recent years. A combination of changes in prevalence, primary care utilisation, detection, hospital access or re-admission rates may underlie the observed increases. As it is very unlikely that diabetes or diabetic foot complications are being over diagnosed, or that the hospitals are over utilised, this analysis shows there is an increasingly apparent need for improved prevention of diabetic foot complications. Therefore primary health care systems should ensure that they implement evidence-based care for preventing foot complications among people with diabetes.

Possible community immunity to small round structured virus gastroenteritis in a rural aboriginal community.

In April 1998 an outbreak of gastroenteritis affected visitors, but none of the Aboriginal residents, at a Territory Health Services luncheon in a rural Aboriginal community in Central Australia. The epidemiological features and identification of Small Round Structured Virus (SRSV) from two participants suggest that this was an outbreak caused by a SRSV. The attack rate in the visitors who ate or drank food at the luncheon was 73% (11 of 15). Seventeen Aboriginal residents were interviewed, none had gastroenteritis. The community potable water supply was contaminated with faecal bacteria around the time of the outbreak. No particular food could be implicated and laboratory examination of foods was not possible. It is proposed that past exposure to SRSVs may have resulted in the Aboriginal residents developing clinical immunity to infection. The process and consequences of the investigation in this community are also discussed.

Characterization and chromosomal localization of the chicken avidin gene family.

Chicken avidin is a biotin-binding protein expressed under inflammation in several chicken tissues and in the oviduct after progesterone induction. The gene encoding avidin belongs to a family that has been shown to include multiple genes homologous to each other. The screening and chromosomal localization studies performed to reveal the structure and organization of the complete avidin gene family is described. The avidin gene family is arranged in a single cluster within a 27-kb genomic region. The cluster is located on the sex chromosome Z on band q21. The organization of the genes was determined and two novel avidin-related genes, AVR6 and AVR7, were cloned and sequenced.

[The somatic embryogenesis and establishment of transformation experiment system in Larix principis-Rupprechtii].

Larix principis-Rupprechtii is one of the superior afforestation forest trees growing in north China. Embryogenic cultures were initiated from immature zygotic embryos of Larix principis-Rupprechtii on S culture medium containing 2, 4-D 0-2.2 mg/L, KT and BA each at 0-0. 8 mg/L. Embryogenic calli were subcultured and multiplicated on S + B culture medium containing dropping off each hormone concentration. We set up 33 steady-going embryogenic cell lines; We studied on the growth stage and genotype differences of every embryogenic cell lines; and Finded more than 10 high-frequency somatic embryogenesis cell lines such as 2K, 2T, 2I, 2J, 3C etc.. The number of 2T somatic embryos reaches 314/per gram of embryogenic tissue and the number of 3C somatic embryos is 185/per gram of embryogenic tissue. The re-induction method of Larix principis-Rupprechtii from somatic embryos was used to produce renewable embryogenic cultures and steady-going embryogenic cell lines effectively. Mature somatic embryos can germinate and develop further into plantlets when they are isolated and cultured on a hormone-free WPM culture medium. The regeneration plantlets were obtained. Furthermore, the transformation with a truncated gene of Bacillus thuringensis (B. t) were carried out, the PCR showed positive results, because of this, embryogenic cell line of Larix principis-Rupprechtii can be used for transformation experiments to support further breeding in forestry.