Moral Frames Are Persuasive and Moralize Attitudes; Nonmoral Frames Are Persuasive and De-Moralize Attitudes.

Moral framing and reframing strategies persuade people holding moralized attitudes (i.e., attitudes having a moral basis). However, these strategies may have unintended side effects: They have the potential to moralize people's attitudes further and as a consequence lower their willingness to compromise on issues. Across three experimental studies with adult U.S. participants (Study 1: N = 2,151, Study 2: N = 1,590, Study 3: N = 1,015), we used persuasion messages (moral, nonmoral, and control) that opposed new big-data technologies (crime-surveillance technologies and hiring algorithms). We consistently found that moral frames were persuasive and moralized people's attitudes, whereas nonmoral frames were persuasive and de-moralized people's attitudes. Moral frames also lowered people's willingness to compromise and reduced behavioral indicators of compromise. Exploratory analyses suggest that feelings of anger and disgust may drive moralization, whereas perceiving the technologies to be financially costly may drive de-moralization. The findings imply that use of moral frames can increase and entrench moral divides rather than bridge them.

Evaluation of Echinostoma liei worm, metacercaria and redia antigens for schistosomiasis control.

While chemotherepeutic drugs, such as praziquantel, oxamniquine and metrifonate, are currently considered safe and effective drugs for schistosomiasis treatment, reinfection occurs frequently after drug treatment. Thus, a vaccine is sought to provide long-term treatment. Antigens from worm, metacercaria and redia of Echinostoma liei (E. liei) were purified using CNBr-activated Sepharose column, then used for immunization of mice prior to infection with Schistosomiasis mansoni. Worm burden, hepatic and intestinal eggs and oogram count was significantly reduced and that was reflected in normalization of liver architecture. This referred to a significant increase in the tested immunoglobulin level (IgM, IgG1 and IgG2).

Serological versus antigen detection methods for Giardia duodenalis diagnosis.

Giardiasis constitutes an important public health problem in the world. Contamination of the water with fecal materials including viruses and pathogenic protozoa still represents an environmental health hazard, especially in rural areas. The survey study evaluated the relation between seropositivity and some risk factors. Moreover, the study compared between the serological IgG and IgM level and antigen detection methods for the diagnosis of giardiasis. The results indicate that sex distribution and age were the mean risk factors for seroprevelence. In this study, sera samples were employed in sandwich ELISA assay, to detect circulating Giardia antigens. None of the negative control serum samples gave a positive reaction, but cross reaction was encountered with 3 case of Cryptosporidium. The specificity of the assay was 94.830/a. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the Giardia patient's sera was 94.12% which was higher than that of IgG (86.25%) and IgM (87.50%) secretion measurements. In conclusion, antigen detection methods give better and earlier diagnosis for giardiasis can be performed quickly and do not require an experienced and skilled morphologist.

Human schistosomiasis haematobium: effective diagnosis of active infection using a pair of monoclonal antibodies against soluble egg antigen.

The present study was designed to prepare monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Schistosoma haematobium soluble egg antigen (SEA) with immunodiagnostic potential for urinary schistosomiasis. From a panel of MAbs, a pair of IgG1 MAbs (2D/11C and 10B/2C) specific for S. haematobium SEA was selected. Both MAbs recognized one band with a 42-kDa molecular weight by western blots. The pair of MAbs was employed in sandwich ELISA for the detection of circulating schistosome antigen (CSA), one as antigen-capturing antibody and the other as peroxidase-conjugated antigen-detecting antibody. The lower detection limit of the assay was 1 ng/ml of S. haematobium SEA. The assay was performed on sera of 65 S. haematobium-infected patients, 25 patients infected with other parasites (Fasciola hepatica, Echinococcus granulosus), and 20 noninfected individuals. CSA was demonstrated in 89% of the S. haematobium-infected group. However, CSA was negative in the sera of healthy individuals and patients infected with other parasites, giving an overall specificity of 100% for the CSA assay. A positive correlation (r=0.37, p<0.01) was detected between the number of S. haematobium eggs excreted in 10 ml urine and the CSA level detected in the sera of S. haematobium-infected patients. Our data show that the use of anti-S. haematobium MAbs for the detection of CSA provides a sensitive and specific method for the immunodiagnosis of active S. haematobium-infected patients. Moreover, CSA assay using this anti-S. haematobium MAb/ELISA system was proven to correlate with intensity of infection and hence morbidity assessment.

Once-daily tablet formulation and in vitro release evaluation of cefpodoxime using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose: A technical note.

Decreasing the dose frequency of cefpodoxime proxetil increases patient compliance; patients prefer to take the drug once daily. It also improves the rate of bacterial killing and hastens the cure from the indications, and therefore increases compliance. The hydrophilic matrix of HPMC controlled the cefpodoxime proxetil release effectively for 24 hours; hence, the formulation can be considered as a once-daily sustained-release tablet of cefpodoxime proxetil. The formulation showed acceptable pharmacotechnical properties and assay requirements. In vitro dissolution studies indicated a sustained-release pattern throughout 24 hours of the study that was comparable to the theoretical release profile. Drug release kinetics indicated that drug release was best explained by Higuchi's equation, as these plots showed the highest linearity (r 2=0.9734), but a close relationship was also noted with zero-order kinetics (r 2=0.9708). Korsmeyer's plots indicated ann value of 0.57, which was indicative of an anomalous diffusion mechanism or diffusion coupled with erosion; hence, the drug release was controlled by more than one process. Hixson-Crowell plots indicated a change in surface area and diameter of the tablets with the progressive dissolution of the matrix as a function of time.

[Uterine metastasis revealing gastric adenocarcinoma]. / Métastase utérine révélatrice d'un adénocarcinome gastrique.

We report a case of metastasis to the uterine corpus revealing a primary gastric adenocarcinoma. A 26-year-old woman suffered from weight loss, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain. An endometrial curettage showed apparently metastatic adenocarcinoma. The primary site of the tumour was gastric. The upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed an ulcus and aspect of linitis plastica in the fundus. Biopsies showed diffuse type adenocarcinoma. Because of extensive disease, laparotomy was not performed and exclusive palliative chemotherapy was started. The patient died 10 months after the diagnosis. Metastasis from primary gastric cancer to the female genital tract are rare and are usually observed in young premenopausal women with diffuse type gastric adenocarcinoma. This case report underlines the interest, for those patients of careful gynaecologic examination at the initial staging and after treatment.