Validation of the Persian version of the attitudes toward intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: Attitudes toward individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are the most important factor affecting their social integration and can cause them to experience a sense of achievement or discrimination. The present study aimed to evaluate the latent factor structure and validity of the Persian version of the Attitudes toward Intellectual Disability (ATTID) Short-Form questionnaire. METHODS: The latent factor structure of the Persian version of the ATTID Short-Form was established in a convenient sample of the general population (N = 280) in Iran. The structural validity and temporal reliability, internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis were evaluated. Data analysis was done with SPSS v23 Windows edition and R v4.2.1. RESULTS: The Persian version of the ATTID Short-Form was shown to have a five-factor structure: discomfort, knowledge of capacity, interaction, sensitivity and knowledge of cause. The structure was appropriately fit according to the fit indices (χ2(485) = 530.12), (P-value = 0.077). All the subscales had good temporal reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the Persian version of the Short-Form of ATTID is a brief, valid and reliable measure that can be used in research and clinical practice.

Solitary dural plasmacytoma with parenchymal invasion.

Primary solitary dural plasmacytoma is an uncommon neoplasm of plasma cell. The clinical presentation and neuroradiological findings of these tumors may be deceptive and resemble to the other most prevalent brain tumors. Solitary plasmacytoma mostly shows a benign behavior and malignant features like local invasion is so rare. We describe the case of parenchymal brain involvement by solitary dural plasmacytoma.

Hemospermia: long-term outcome in 165 patients.

Long-term course of hemospermia has not been addressed in the sexual medicine literature. We report our 15 years' experience. From 1997 to 2012, 165 patients presented with hemospermia. Mean age was 38 years. Mean follow-up was 83 months. Laboratory evaluation and testis and transabdominal ultrasonography was done in all. Since 2008, all sonographies were done by the first author. One patient had urinary tuberculosis, one had bladder tumor and three had benign lesions at verumontanum. One patient had bilateral partial ejaculatory duct obstruction by stones. All six patients had persistent, frequently recurring or high-volume hemospermia. All pathologies were found in young patients. In the remaining 159 patients (96%), empiric treatment was given with a fluoroquinolone (Ciprofloxacin) plus an nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (Celecoxib). In our 15 years of follow-up, no patient later developed life-threatening disease. Diagnostic evaluation of hemospermia is not worthwhile in the absolute majority of cases. Advanced age makes no difference. Only high-risk patients need to be evaluated. The vast majority of cases may be safely and effectively treated with empiric therapy. Almost all patients do well in long term.

Seroprevalence of HPV vaccine types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in HIV-infected women from South Africa, Brazil and Botswana.

BACKGROUND: Many resource limited settings (RLS) suffer from high rates of both cervical cancer and HIV. Limited HPV serology data are available from RLS; such data could help describe local patterns of HPV infection and predict vaccine efficacy. OBJECTIVES: To determine seropositivity to HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in HIV-infected women from South Africa (SA), Botswana and Brazil. STUDY DESIGN: HPV serotyping for high-risk types 6, 11, 16 and 18 was performed on samples collected from HIV-infected women from 2003-2010 using competitive Luminex Immuno Assay (HPV-4cLIA). We examined the association between seropositivity to these HPV types and country of enrollment, CD4, HIV-1 RNA level, and Pap smear. RESULTS: HPV serology results were available for 487 HIV-infected women (157, 170 and 160 from SA, Botswana and Brazil respectively). Approximately 65% of women had serum antibodies to one of the 4 HPV types and less than 3% of women had antibodies all 4 serotypes. Approximately 30% women demonstrated antibodies to type 16 HPV. Rates of seropositivity to HPV 11, and HPV 16+18 varied significantly between countries. Statistical difference was also shown in women in different age categories in the different countries. There was no difference in serology results compared by CD4 count, HIV viral load or Pap smear results. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the quadrivalent vaccine may be effective in preventing HPV infection in these countries.

HIV specific humoral immune response in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Efforts to characterize HIV-1 polymorphism and anti-HIV immune response are being made in areas where anti-HIV/AIDS vaccines are to be employed. Anti-HIV-1 humoral immune response is being studied in infected individuals resident in Rio de Janeiro, in distinct cohorts involving recent seroconvertors, pregnant women or intravenous drug users (IDU). Comparative analysis of specificity of antibody response towards epitopes important for anti-HIV-1 immune response indicate quantitative differences between cohorts, with an exceptionally strong response in IDUs and weakest response in pregnant women. However, a comparative analysis between pregnant women cohorts from Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul indicated an even lower response (with exception of the anti-V3-C clade peptide recognition) for the southern cohort. Studied analysing the immune function of the humoral response indicate a quite elevated occurrence of antibodies capable of neutralizing heterologous primary HIV-1 isolates from Rio de Janeiro. Attempts to correlate seroreactivity with HIV-1 neutralization with respect to HIV-1 polymorphism were not very successfull: while the Brazilian B clade B" variant could be recognized by binding assays, no significant distinction of HIV-1 clades/variants was observed in viral neutralization assays.

Adenoviral-p53 gene transfer to orthotopic and peritoneal murine bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the potential for adenoviral-mediated gene therapy in primary and metastatic bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Orthotopic and intraperitoneal bladder tumors were established after delivery of 1 x 10(6) MBT-2 cells into syngeneic mice. Gene transfer was accomplished via intravesical or intraperitoneal instillation by using an E-1 deleted adenovirus encoding LacZ or human p53. Successful tumor transduction was confirmed in tumor DNA and mRNA by polymerase chain reaction. Detection of recombinant gene product was detected by histochemical staining (X-gal) and Western blot. RESULTS: Palpable tumors developed 18 days following implantation. LacZ and p53 mRNA were present in tumor and adjacent normal tissue after bladder and intraperitoneal vector administration. Recombinant gene products were identified by histochemistry and Western blot. CONCLUSION: Bladder tumor-directed gene transfer using adenoviral vectors is an efficient and powerful tool for evaluating the adjuvant role of therapeutic gene products.

Optokinetic and vestibular interactions with smooth pursuit: psychophysical responses.

The effect was evaluated in normal subjects of the subjective perception of motion of a small visual target (VT) when combined with the effect of vestibular stimulation produced by different magnitudes of constant angular accelerations in the dark or the effect of optokinetic stimulation produced by different constant velocities of rotation. The visual target appeared to the subject to travel more slowly and for a shorter duration when it moved in the direction of the body's angular acceleration or against that of the optokinetic drum. The perceived error in motion was: (i) in the same direction as the subject's motion sensation produced by either of the two stimuli, and (ii) quantitatively related, although differently, to the magnitude of each of the two stimulus modalities; an heuristic model is proposed to account for these observations.