Canadian results from the European Men-who-have-sex-with-men Internet survey (EMIS-2017).

BACKGROUND: In 2017, the international European Men-who-have-sex-with-men Internet Survey (EMIS-2017) collected data from 50 countries, including Canada for the first time. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the Canadian EMIS-2017 data to describe the sexually transmitted and other bloodborne infection (STBBI) related needs of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM). METHODS: The EMIS-2017 questionnaire was an updated version of EMIS-2010. It included self-reported sociodemographic data, experience of discrimination, mental health and substance use, knowledge of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, sexual practices and history of STBBI testing and diagnosis. Analysis was largely descriptive. RESULTS: Of the 6,059 respondents from Canada, 5,165 participants met the inclusion criteria for this analysis. The majority of participants were born in Canada (79.3%); and over half of the respondents (56.7%) were under the age of 39. In terms of discrimination related to their attraction to other men, participants reported high levels of intimidation (31.9%), verbal abuse (22.1%) and physical violence (1.5%) in the previous year. Regarding mental health, 23.9% had a moderate to severe depression/anxiety score. Almost two-thirds (64.1%) indicated substance use and one-fifth (21.5%) reported chemsex (or the use of stimulant drugs to make sex more intense or last longer). Only 8.4% of participants reported use of PrEP for HIV; however, 51.7% reported being likely to use PrEP if it was available and affordable. Sexual practices, such as condom use, varied by PrEP use with 91.3% of men using PrEP reporting condomless anal intercourse (CAI) compared with 71.5% of men not on PrEP. In terms of STBBI testing, 1.5% reported being diagnosed with hepatitis C and 9.0% reported an HIV diagnosis. Of those with an HIV diagnosis, most were on treatment (99.1%) and had an undetectable viral load (96.7%). CONCLUSION: gbMSM in Canada experienced stigma, discrimination and mental health problems; substance use was high as were high-risk sexual practices, such as CAI, among some groups of men. There was a gap between the proportion of men who were interested in PrEP and those who actually used it; and comprehensive STBBI testing was low.These findings can inform public health action and provide a baseline to examine the impact of current and new interventions.

Detection of specific antibodies using immunosubtraction and capillary electrophoresis instrumentation.

Solution-phase immunoassays based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations have been shown to be rapid and simple to perform. The potential for sample matrix interference and incompatibility with multiplexing conditions for antibody detection when dealing with real samples, however, has prompted the development of an assay that utilizes an immunosubtraction methodology. A model assay for the detection of specific antibodies that relies on solid-phase extraction, CE and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection is described. The method, called immunocapture-immunosubtraction (ICIS), incorporates an antibody capture/purification protocol using magnetic particles. The detection of specific antibodies is achieved by CE-LIF analysis of a probe solution following incubation with the captured antibodies. As an example of the ICIS assay's capabilities, the relative quantification of anti-fluorescein in serum is presented.

The hazards of vinyl glove ingestion in the mentally retarded patient with pica: new implications for surgical management.

OBJECTIVE: To report experience with the treatment of complications of vinyl glove ingestion in mentally retarded patients with pica. DESIGN: A retrospective case series. SETTING: Two university-affiliated hospitals. PATIENTS: Five mentally retarded patients, 4 with a history of pica, who were admitted for the management of complications resulting from the ingestion of vinyl gloves. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Type of complication, treatment and operative outcome. FINDINGS: The patients ranged in age from 26 to 46 years. One patient died while awaiting surgical consultation of massive gastrointestinal bleeding from a large gastric ulcer caused by a vinyl glove bezoar (VGB). Four VGBs were removed surgically. Endoscopic removal was difficult or impossible because the gloves had become hardened and matted. CONCLUSIONS: VGB should be considered in institutionalized mentally retarded people with a history of pica when they present with gastrointestinal symptoms. VGBs should be removed directly by laparotomy, gastrotomy or enterotomy. Endoscopic removal is not recommended.

Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced native fluorescence detection for profiling body fluids.

Laser-induced native fluorescence detection with a KrF excimer laser (lambda=248 nm) was used to investigate the capillary electrophoretic (CE) profiles of human urine, saliva and serum without the need for sample derivatization. All separations were carried out in sodium phosphate and/or sodium tetraborate buffers at alkaline pH in a 50-microm I.D. capillary. Sodium dodecyl sulfate was added to the buffer for micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) analysis of human urine. Although inherently a pulsed source, the KrF excimer laser was operated at a high pulse repetition rate of 553, 1001 or 2009 Hz to simulate a continuous wave excitation source. Detection limits were found to vary with pulse rate, as expected, in proportion to average excitation power. The following detection limits (3sigma) were determined in free solution CE: tryptophan, 4 nM; conalbumin, 10 nM; alpha-lactalbumin, 30 nM. Detection limits for indole-based compounds and catecholamine urinary metabolites under MEKC separation conditions were in the range 7-170 nM.

Comparison of three common amine reactive fluorescent probes used for conjugation to biomolecules by capillary zone electrophoresis.

The conjugation of three amine reactive fluorescent probes, each containing the fluorophore fluorescein but different reactive moieties, was compared using the protein myoglobin and the amino acid L-lysine as reagents. The three different reactive moieties were an isothiocyanate group (FITC), a succinimidyl ester group (CFSE), and a dichlorotriazine group (DTAF). The relative performance was based on the degree of conjugation to myoglobin, the rate of reaction, freedom from hydrolysis, and the stability of a conjugate with lysine. Performance was evaluated by separating the conjugation reaction reagents and products on-line, using capillary zone electrophoresis, and assessing relative amounts by absorbance detection. Each of the reactive probes demonstrated the ability to achieve a similar degree of conjugation, which depended mostly on allowed conjugated reaction time, and a rate of conjugation that rendered hydrolysis of the reactive moiety insignificant. For the relative rate of conjugation between probes and stability of the resulting conjugate, CFSE demonstrated superior performance, followed by DTAF and then FITC, for both the protein myoglobin and the amino acid L-lysine. The FITC conjugation reaction was much easier to control, however, which may be significant for applications that require a precise degree of conjugation. With regard to conjugate-bond stability, the FITC conjugate demonstrated inferior performance when subjected to incubation at 37 degrees C.

Monitoring of a conjugation reaction between fluorescein isothiocyanate and myoglobin by capillary zone electrophoresis.

The conjugation reaction between the amine reactive fluorescent probe fluorescein isothiocyanate and the protein horse heart myoglobin was directly monitored as the reaction progressed by capillary zone electrophoresis with UV absorbance detection. Kinetic analysis of the data indicated that the order of the reaction was first with respect to myoglobin and 1.3 with respect to fluorescein isothiocyanate. The separation of peaks attributable to the incorporation of n = 1,2, ... 7 fluorochrome labels into the protein has some significance for the generation of single-label protein probes, such as antibodies.