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Drug-law enforcement constitutes a structural determinant of health among people who inject drugs (PWID). Street encounters between police and PWID (e.g., syringe confiscation, physical assault) have been associated with health harms, but these relationships have not been systematically assessed. We conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the contribution of policing to risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among PWID. We screened MEDLINE, sociological databases, and gray literature for studies published from 1981 to November 2018 that included estimates of HIV infection/risk behaviors and street policing encounters. We extracted and summarized quantitative findings from all eligible studies. We screened 8,201 abstracts, reviewed 175 full-text articles, and included 27 eligible analyses from 9 countries (Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States). Heterogeneity in variable and endpoint selection precluded meta-analyses. In 5 (19%) studies, HIV infection among PWID was significantly associated with syringe confiscation, reluctance to buy/carry syringes for fear of police, rushed injection due to a police presence, fear of arrest, being arrested for planted drugs, and physical abuse. Twenty-one (78%) studies identified policing practices to be associated with HIV risk behaviors related to injection drug use (e.g., syringe-sharing, using a “shooting gallery”). In 9 (33%) studies, policing was associated with PWID avoidance of harm reduction services, including syringe exchange, methadone maintenance, and safe consumption facilities. Evidence suggests that policing shapes HIV risk among PWID, but lower-income settings are underrepresented. Curbing injection-related HIV risk necessitates additional structural interventions. Methodological harmonization could facilitate knowledge generation on the role of police as a determinant of population health.Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that can infect all nucleated cells through active invasion. Some non-canonical pathways for T. gondii infection of macrophages have recently been reported. We report a new mode of T. gondii invasion using a time-lapse imaging system, in which T. gondii tachyzoites are engulfed by a tube-like structure on peritoneal macrophage phagosomes and then escape from the phagosomes. Escaped parasites re-invade macrophages through intercellular junctions between their apical end and host cell membranes. We call this invasion pathway of T. gondii “pseudopod-assisted invasion” (PAI). The completion of this invasion process depends on parasitic motility and secretion of adhesins from parasitic micronemes. Our results provide new information about T. gondii infection and establish another platform for studying interactions between T. gondii and macrophages.

The development of HIV drug resistance against the integrase strand transfer inhibitor dolutegravir is rare. We report here the transient detection, by near full-genome ultradeep sequencing, of minority HIV-1 subtype B variants bearing the S153F and R263K integrase substitutions in the proviral DNA from blood cells of one patient who successfully initiated dolutegravir-based ART, over 24 weeks. Our objective was to study the effects of these substitutions.

Strand transfer and DNA-binding activities of recombinant integrase proteins were measured in cell-free assays. Cell-based resistance, infectivity and replicative capacities were measured using molecular clones. Structural modelling was performed to understand experimental results.

R263K emerged first, followed by the addition of S153F at Week 12. By Week 24, both mutations remained present, but at lower prevalence. We confirmed the coexistence of S153F and R263K on single viral genomes. Combining S153F or S153Y with R263K decreased integration and vivariants did not compromise viral suppression in one individual treated with dolutegravir.

Dairy foods, particularly yogurt, and plasma biomarkers of dairy fat intake are consistently inversely associated with incident type 2 diabetes. Yet, few trials assessing the impact of dairy on glucose homeostasis include fermented or full-fat dairy foods.

We aimed to compare the effects of diets rich in low-fat or full-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese on glucose tolerance and its determinants, with those of a limited dairy diet.

In this parallel-design randomized controlled trial, 72 participants with metabolic syndrome completed a 4-wk wash-in period, limiting dairy intake to ≤3 servings/wk of nonfat milk. Participants were then randomly assigned to either continue the limited dairy diet, or switch to a diet containing 3.3 servings/d of either low-fat or full-fat dairy for 12 wk. Outcome measures included glucose tolerance (area under the curve glucose during an oral-glucose-tolerance test), insulin sensitivity, pancreatic β-cell function, systemic inflammation, liver-fat content, and body weight and comptivity through mechanisms largely unrelated to changes in key determinants of insulin sensitivity.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02663544.

Contrary to our hypothesis, neither dairy diet improved glucose tolerance in individuals with metabolic syndrome. Both dairy diets decreased insulin sensitivity through mechanisms largely unrelated to changes in key determinants of insulin sensitivity.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02663544.Estimation of the effective inhalation dose of short half-life radon progeny requires the quantification of radon equilibrium equivalent activity concentrations (EEC, Ceq). The aim of the present study is to develop new methodology that focuses on spot measurements to determine EEC from single gross alpha counts and determine an optimised protocol. Epigenetic inhibitor order The core of the approach is to measure alpha particles over time when the radon progeny attached to the sampling filter are significantly disintegrated. The calibration curve of single counts to EEC is theoretically deduced and validated by a comparison test. The advantage of the present method is its minimal requirements, including the use of common instruments and simple sampling, alpha counting and analysis procedures. This approach offers an option for radon practitioners working in a variety of fields, as well as the possibility for non-experts to easily measure Ceq.