Poly-Victimisation among Vietnamese High School Students: Prevalence and Demographic Correlates

Background

Exposure to multiple forms of violence, including abuse and crime is termed poly-victimisation. There has been increasing research interest in poly-victimisation among children and adolescents in high income countries. However, experiences among adolescents living in low- and lower-middle-income countries are yet to be examined.

Aims

To establish the prevalence of lifetime exposure to poly-victimisation and demographic characteristics of victims among high school students in Vietnam.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey with a self-report, anonymous questionnaire was conducted in ten high schools in Hanoi, Vietnam between October 2013 and January 2014. Poly-victimisation was assessed using the Juvenile Victimisation Questionnaire Revised 2 (JVQ R2).

Results

A total of 1,606/1,745 (92.0%) eligible students provided data and were included in the analyses. Lifetime exposure to at least one form of victimisation was reported by 94.3% (95%CI: 92.5-95.4%) of participants and lifetime exposure to more than 10 forms by 31.1% (95%CI: 27.8-33.5%). Poly-victimisation was associated with experiencing more adverse life events, having a chronic disease or disability, living with a step-parent, experiencing family life as unhappy, being disciplined at school, and living in a rural area. Poly-victimisation experiences differed among students from the three types of high schools in Vietnam.

Conclusions

These data reveal the prevalence and multi-factorial risks of exposure to poly-victimisation among adolescents in Vietnam. Prevalence rates of different forms of victimisation among Vietnamese students, including those previously un-investigated, were higher than those reported in other settings. Poly-victimisation was also common among them. There were certain subgroups who were more vulnerable to poly-victimisation. Further research to understand the broader aspects of adolescence in Vietnam, including poly-victimisation, is thus recommended. Special attention should be paid to specific subgroups in the prevention of violence against children and adolescents in this setting. Education to raise awareness about poly-victimisation among the community is needed.     

Oxygen supply limits the heat tolerance of lizard embryos

The mechanisms that set the thermal limits to life remain uncertain. Classically, researchers thought that heating kills by disrupting the structures of proteins or membranes, but an alternative hypothesis focuses on the demand for oxygen relative to its supply. We evaluated this alternative hypothesis by comparing the lethal temperature for lizard embryos developing at oxygen concentrations of 10–30%. Embryos exposed to normoxia and hyperoxia survived to higher temperatures than those exposed to hypoxia, suggesting that oxygen limitation sets the thermal maximum. As all animals pass through an embryonic stage where respiratory and cardiovascular systems must develop, oxygen limitation may limit the thermal niches of terrestrial animals as well as aquatic ones.     

Pre-Analytical Sample Quality: Metabolite Ratios as an Intrinsic Marker for Prolonged Room Temperature Exposure of Serum Samples

Advances in the “omics” field bring about the need for a high number of good quality samples. Many omics studies take advantage of biobanked samples to meet this need. Most of the laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Therefore evidence-based standard operating procedures for the pre-analytical phase as well as markers to distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ quality samples taking into account the desired downstream analysis are urgently needed. We studied concentration changes of metabolites in serum samples due to pre-storage handling conditions as well as due to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. We collected fasting serum samples and subjected aliquots to up to four freeze-thaw cycles and to pre-storage handling delays of 12, 24 and 36 hours at room temperature (RT) and on wet and dry ice. For each treated aliquot, we quantified 127 metabolites through a targeted metabolomics approach. We found a clear signature of degradation in samples kept at RT. Storage on wet ice led to less pronounced concentration changes. 24 metabolites showed significant concentration changes at RT. In 22 of these, changes were already visible after only 12 hours of storage delay. Especially pronounced were increases in lysophosphatidylcholines and decreases in phosphatidylcholines. We showed that the ratio between the concentrations of these molecule classes could serve as a measure to distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ quality samples in our study. In contrast, we found quite stable metabolite concentrations during up to four freeze-thaw cycles. We concluded that pre-analytical RT handling of serum samples should be strictly avoided and serum samples should always be handled on wet ice or in cooling devices after centrifugation. Moreover, serum samples should be frozen at or below -80°C as soon as possible after centrifugation.     

A Case Control Study Reveals that Polyomaviruria Is Significantly Associated with Interstitial Cystitis and Vesical Ulceration

Objectives

To investigate whether polyomaviruses contribute to interstitial cystitis pathogenesis.

Subjects and Methods

A prospective study was performed with 50 interstitial cystitis cases compared with 50 age-matched, disease-free controls for the frequency of polyomaviruria. Associations between polyomaviruria and disease characteristics were analysed in cases. Polyomavirus in urine and bladder tissue was detected with species (JC virus vs. BK virus) specific, real-time PCR.

Results

Case patients were reflective of interstitial cystitis epidemiology with age range from 26–88 years (median 58) and female predominance (41/50 F). There was a significant increase in the frequency of polyomavirus shedding between cases and controls (p<0.02). Polyomavirus shedding, in particular BK viruria, was associated with vesical ulceration, a marker of disease severity, among interstitial cystitis cases after adjustment for age and sex (OR 6.8, 95% CI 1.89–24.4). There was a significant association among cases between the presence of BK viruria and response to intravesical Clorpactin therapy (OR 4.50, 95% CI 1.17–17.4).

Conclusion

The presence of polyomaviruria was found to be associated with the ulcerative form of interstitial cystitis. Clorpactin, which has anti-DNA virus activity, was more likely to improve symptoms in the presence of BK viruria. These data from this pilot study suggest associations between polyomaviruria and interstitial cystitis warranting further investigation.     

Pathogen Sources Estimation and Scenario Analysis Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)

Concerns over water quality in Ireland have increased in recent years, in part due to the more frequent contamination of drinking water by pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium. The objective of this study was to assess the use of SWAT for pathogen source estimation and to analyze the effects of various source scenarios on pathogen outputs in Irish catchments. Two agricultural catchments in Ireland susceptible to pathogen contamination of source water were the center of the SWAT model development with the primary focus on levels of E. coli in surface water. Model simulations used site and source specific information which was analyzed considering the total E. coli count for the simulation period (Fergus: January 2005–October 2006; Kilshanvey: January 2006–July 2007). Pathogen source estimation identified point sources as the most significant contributors to E. coli output with direct deposition the primary contributor (95%) in Kilshanvey and wastewater treatment plant outflow (89%) the main contributor in the Fergus catchment. A scenario analysis evaluated possible situations that may occur in study locations. The analysis indicated that restriction of livestock access to water sources and improved wastewater treatment would represent effective methods of improving water quality in both catchments.     

Comparison of the archaeal community in the fermentative compartment and faeces of the cow and the rabbit

The archaeal community in the fermentative compartment and faeces of the cow and the rabbit were compared by analysis capillary electrophoresis single-stranded conformation polymorphism (CE-SSCP) profiles of 16S rRNA genes. Ruminal and faecal contents were sampled in five cows for three weeks. Hard and soft faeces were collected in 14 rabbits for three consecutive weeks and cæcal contents were sampled in the third week. The archaeal community differed according to the host species (ANOSIM-R = 0.53 and 0.72 respectively for the comparison of the fermentative compartments and faeces; P < 0.001) and to the location within the digestive tract of both species (ANOSIM-R = 0.37, 0.52 respectively for the cow and the rabbit; P < 0.001). In both species, the archaeal community of the digestive tract was stable over weeks and varied very little between individual animals. The structure (NS) and the richness index (9.9 ± 2.7, 10.1 ± 3.1 respectively, NS) of the archaeal community were similar for the cæcal content and the soft faeces which permitted to use the latter as a representative indicator.     

Studying multisite binary and ternary protein interactions by global analysis of isothermal titration calorimetry data in SEDPHAT: application to adaptor protein complexes in cell signaling

Multisite interactions and the formation of ternary or higher-order protein complexes are ubiquitous features of protein interactions. Cooperativity between different ligands is a hallmark for information transfer, and is frequently critical for the biological function. We describe a new computational platform for the global analysis of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) data for the study of binary and ternary multisite interactions, implemented as part of the public domain multimethod analysis software SEDPHAT. The global analysis of titrations performed in different orientations was explored, and the potential for unraveling cooperativity parameters in multisite interactions was assessed in theory and experiment. To demonstrate the practical potential and limitations of global analyses of ITC titrations for the study of cooperative multiprotein interactions, we have examined the interactions of three proteins that are critical for signal transduction after T-cell activation, LAT, Grb2, and Sos1. We have shown previously that multivalent interactions between these three molecules promote the assembly of large multiprotein complexes important for T-cell receptor activation. By global analysis of the heats of binding observed in sets of ITC injections in different orientations, which allowed us to follow the formation of binary and ternary complexes, we observed negative and positive cooperativity that may be important to control the pathway of assembly and disassembly of adaptor protein particles.     

Trail-Following Behaviour in the Malacophagous Larvae of the Aquatic Sciomyzid Flies <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sepedon spinipes spinipes</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dictya montana</Emphasis>

The ability of neonate larvae of the aquatic sciomyzids, Sepedon spinipes spinipes (Scopoli) and Dictya montana Steyskal (Diptera), to follow snail mucus trails was assessed using filter paper Y-mazes. On finding a mucus trail, larval behaviour of both species switched from unstimulated to stimulated searching behaviour, the latter being characterised by an increase in larval velocity and the frequency of lateral head taps. When fresh mucus trails were used, all of the neonates displayed a positive response and followed the mucus trail into the experimental arm. In addition, for S. s. spinipes and D. montana 80.00% and 86.67% of larvae respectively exhibited a strong response and followed the trail to its end. The stimulatory substance (s), however, appears to become inactive with time and after 45 minutes none of the tested larvae reached the trail end. These results are discussed in relation to the ability of aquatic species to forage outside of water for prey and the implications for their use in the biological control of nuisance snails.