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Cigarette smoking is highly prevalent among people living with HIV/AIDS and poses unique health risks. Smoking cessation programs tailored to this population have documented improved smoking outcomes with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The current study examined 6-month abstinence rates from a randomized clinical trial targeting 412 HIV-positive adult current smokers (51% European American, 19% African American, and 17% Hispanic American) and tested whether psychosocial variables, such as self-efficacy and decisional balance, mediated the relationship between NRT and long-term abstinence. Meeting criteria for complete mediation, 6-month smoking abstinence rates improved significantly with increases in these mediators, and the association of NRT and smoking abstinence was no longer significant once changes in self-efficacy and decisional balance were taken into account . Failure to translate gains in self-efficacy among African Americans into improved abstinence rates accounted for racial/ethnic differences among participants. Specific psychosocial factors, such as self-efficacy, may be particularly amenable to change in cessation interventions and should be addressed with greater awareness of how cultural and social contextual factors impact treatment response among people living with HIV/AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To better characterize smoking in HIV-positive individuals and to identify critical components of a targeted smoking cessation intervention for multiethnic HIV-positive smokers. Methods: Differences in baseline characteristics of 444 HIV-positive smokers were examined by race, and a multivariate linear regression model evaluated factors associated with nicotine dependence in an HIV-positive population, with a particular emphasis on race/ethnic differences. Results: Low smoking self-efficacy and higher contemplation of quitting were predictive of greater nicotine dependence. An interaction between age and race was noted, with older Hispanic Americans less likely to be nicotine dependent. Conclusions: Efforts should be made to tailor smoking cessation intervention content to HIV-positive racial/ethnic minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To examine mother-child dietary concordance that may contribute to healthy eating practices critical to cancer prevention in underserved rural families. METHODS: A brief food frequency questionnaire was administered to 404 sixth-graders and their mothers in rural Virginia and New York. RESULTS: Significant dietary fat concordance rates were indicated for mother-daughter dyads only. A 3-way interaction revealed that African American girls with mothers who report high fat intake are at highest risk for health-compromis ing dietary behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions may need to differ entially motivate male and female adolescents and incorporate familial and cultural influences to pro mote healthy eating in rural youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Before a probiotic bacterium can even begin to fulfill its biological role, it must survive a battery of environmental stresses imposed during food processing and passage through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Food processing stresses include extremes in temperature, as well as osmotic, oxidative and food matrix stresses. Passage through the GIT is a hazardous journey for any bacteria with deleterious lows in pH encountered in the stomach to the detergent-like properties of bile in the duodenum. However, bacteria are equipped with an array of defense mechanisms to counteract intracellular damage or to enhance the robustness of the cell to withstand lethal external environments. Understanding these mechanisms in probiotic bacteria and indeed other bacterial groups has resulted in the development of a molecular toolbox to augment the technological and gastrointestinal performance of probiotics. This has been greatly aided by studies which examine the global cellular responses to stress highlighting distinct regulatory networks and which also identify novel mechanisms used by cells to cope with hazardous environments. This review highlights the latest studies which have exploited the bacterial stress response with a view to producing next-generation probiotic cultures and highlights the significance of studies which view the global bacterial stress response from an integrative systems biology perspective.

The deposition of amyloid as a distinct, clinically apparent mass is uncommon, particularly in soft tissues. Among reported sites of soft tissue amyloidomas, the extremities are quite rare. Amyloid tumors can mimic malignant neoplasms both clinically and radiologically. We report a case of AA amyloidoma presenting in the deltoid region with radiological features suggesting sarcoma. Cytomorphology from fine-needle aspiration material, tissue histology, and appearance by magnetic resonance imaging are described. The literature on soft tissue amyloidoma is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]