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Roles of PhD supervisors are diverse, ranging from providing in-depth discipline-specific Public Health knowledge and technical (e.g., methodological) support to the students, encouraging them towards publications or conference... more

Roles of PhD supervisors are diverse, ranging from providing in-depth discipline-specific Public Health knowledge and technical (e.g., methodological) support to the students, encouraging them towards publications or conference presentations, offering pastoral support for student wellbeing, and finally preparing them to defend their thesis by conducting a mock viva. Effective supervision plays a vital role in a PhD journey reflecting on the quality of the PhD work, positive PhD experience, and supervisor-student relationship. While some student-supervisors team may encounter conflicting and challenging relationships, many relationships between PhD supervisor(s) and students progress into mentorship through joint publications and grant applications, career advice, and support establishing wider collaborative networks. Drawing from the wider experiences of the authors, this article highlights the responsibilities, opportunities, and sometimes the challenging nature of being a PhD supe...

Background: Sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of human trafficking globally. It is associated with health, emotional, social, moral and legal problems. The victims of sex trafficking when returned home are often ignored.... more

Background: Sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of human trafficking globally. It is associated with health, emotional, social, moral and legal problems. The victims of sex trafficking when returned home are often ignored. This study aimed to explore the health consequences of sex trafficking among women and children.Methods: Medline EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were systematically searched, from date of inception to July 2016 using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and text words on health risks and consequences of sex trafficking. Electronic searches were supplemented by searching the reference lists of included papers and citation tracking. Both Qualitative and quantitative primary studies published in English and exploring health-related problems among sex trafficked women and children were included in this review. Health outcomes considered were: physical, psychological or social risks and consequences of sex trafficking among women and children. No re...

ObjectiveDescribe the self-reported prevalence and nature of Olympic-career injury and general health and current residual symptoms in a self-selected sample of retired Olympians.Methods3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries completed... more

ObjectiveDescribe the self-reported prevalence and nature of Olympic-career injury and general health and current residual symptoms in a self-selected sample of retired Olympians.Methods3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries completed a cross-sectional online survey, distributed by direct email through World Olympians Association and National Olympian Associations databases. The survey captured Olympic sport exposure, significant training and competition injury history (lasting >1 month), general health (eg, depression) during the athlete’s career, and current musculoskeletal pain and functional limitations.Results55% were men (44% women, 1% unknown), representing 57 sports (42 Summer, 15 Winter), aged 44.7 years (range 16–97). A total of 3746 injuries were self-reported by 2116 Olympians. This equated, 63.0% (women 68.1%, men 59.2%) reporting at least one significant injury during their Olympic career. Injury prevalence was highest in handball (82.2%) and lowest in shooting (...

Encouraging results from recent clinical trials are revitalizing the field of oncolytic virotherapies. Human adenovirus type 5 (HAdV-C5/Ad5) is a common vector for its ease of manipulation, high production titers and capacity to transduce... more

Encouraging results from recent clinical trials are revitalizing the field of oncolytic virotherapies. Human adenovirus type 5 (HAdV-C5/Ad5) is a common vector for its ease of manipulation, high production titers and capacity to transduce multiple cell types. However, effective clinical applications are hindered by poor tumor-selectivity and vector neutralization. We generated Ad5/kn48 by pseudotyping Ad5 with the fiber knob domain from the less seroprevalent HAdV-D48 (Ad48). The vector was shown to utilize coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) but not CD46 for cell entry. A 20-amino acid peptide NAVPNLRGDLQVLAQKVART (A20) was inserted into the Ad5. Luc HI loop (Ad5.HI.A20) and Ad5/kn48 DG loop (Ad5/kn48.DG.A20) to target a prognostic cancer cell marker, αvβ6 integrin. Relative to the Ad5.Luc parent vector, Ad5.HI.A20, Ad5.KO1.HI.A20 (KO1, ablated CAR-binding) and Ad5/kn48.DG.A20 showed ~ 160-, 270- and 180-fold increased transduction in BT-20 breast carcinoma cells (αvβ6high). Pr...

Background: Modern contraceptives are medical procedures that interfere with reproduction or acts of sexual intercourse. Moyo district contraceptive prevalence used by females aged 15 - 24 years is 6.03%, which is far from the... more

Background: Modern contraceptives are medical procedures that interfere
with reproduction or acts of sexual intercourse. Moyo district contraceptive
prevalence used by females aged 15 - 24 years is 6.03%, which is far from the
national target. The low contraceptive use among this age group results in high
school drops, unwanted pregnancy, early child marriage, and community dis-
putes. Purpose: To evaluate barriers associated with the utilization of modern
contraceptive methods used by females aged 15 - 24 years in Moyo district in
Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional design with mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used. The reason for using a cross-sec-
tional design is to measure the exposure and outcome variables at the same
time. It’s relatively quick and inexpensive, and findings can be used to create
an in-depth research study. Multistage sampling was used to draw 423 partic-
ipants for quantitative and 23 participants were purposively selected for Qual-
itative study based on knowledge and experience, the results were analyzed
using SPSS Version 20 and open code software and presented in the form of tables, pie charts, graphs, descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings indicated marital status OR 3.193, P-Value 0.000 and CI (2.002 - 5.091), Family/Community influence OR 1.644, P-Value 0.019 and CI (1.084 - 2.493) and Cultural influence OR 2.004, P-Value 0.006 and CI (1.218 - 3.298) tend to be associated with using contraceptives. Desire for children OR 0.459, P-Value 0.002 and CI (0.279 - 0.756) and long waiting time OR 0.442, P-Value 0.003 and CI (0.258 - 0.756) tend to be not associated with the use of modern contraceptives. The findings of this study have shown both individual and so-
cio-cultural factors contribute to the low utilization of modern contraceptives
among females aged 15 - 24 years, and these need to be addressed with the involvement of different stakeholders.

Partial Differentiation of Real Ternary Functions In this article, we shall extend the result of [19] to discuss partial differentiation of real ternary functions (refer to [8] and [16] for partial differentiation).

The hazard function is a key component in the inferential process in survival analysis and relevant for describing the pattern of failures. However, it is rarely shown in research papers due to the difficulties in nonparametric... more

The hazard function is a key component in the inferential process in survival analysis and relevant for describing the pattern of failures. However, it is rarely shown in research papers due to the difficulties in nonparametric estimation. We developed the bshazard package to facilitate the computation of a nonparametric estimate of the hazard function, with data-driven smoothing. The method accounts for left truncation, right censoring and possible covariates. B-splines are used to estimate the shape of the hazard within the generalized linear mixed models framework. Smoothness is controlled by imposing an autoregressive structure on the baseline hazard coefficients. This perspective allows an ‘automatic’ smoothing by avoiding the need to choose the smoothing parameter, which is estimated from the data as a dispersion parameter. A simulation study demonstrates the capability of our software and an application to estimate the hazard of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Swedish population da...

Cognitive impairments are well-established features of schizophrenia, but there is ongoing debate about the nature and degree of cognitive impairment in patients with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that... more

Cognitive impairments are well-established features of schizophrenia, but there is ongoing debate about the nature and degree of cognitive impairment in patients with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that there is a spectrum of increasing impairment from bipolar disorder to schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, to schizoaffective disorder depressive type and schizophrenia. We compared performance on the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery between participants with schizophrenia (= 558), schizoaffective disorder depressive type (= 112), schizoaffective disorder type (= 76), bipolar disorder (= 78) and healthy participants (= 103) using analysis of covariance with post hoc comparisons. We conducted an ordinal logistic regression to examine whether cognitive impairments followed the hypothesized spectrum from bipolar disorder (least severe) to schizophrenia (most severe). In additi...

Disseminated candidiasis has become one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired blood stream infections with high mobility and mortality. However, the molecular basis of host defense against disseminated candidiasis remains elusive,... more

Disseminated candidiasis has become one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired blood stream infections with high mobility and mortality. However, the molecular basis of host defense against disseminated candidiasis remains elusive, and treatment options are limited. Here we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase CBLB directs polyubiquitination of dectin-1 and dectin-2, two key pattern-recognition receptors for sensing Candida albicans, and their downstream kinase SYK, thus inhibiting dectin-1- and dectin-2-mediated innate immune responses. CBLB deficiency or inactivation protects mice from systemic infection with a lethal dose of C. albicans, and deficiency of dectin-1, dectin-2, or both in Cblb(-/-) mice abrogates this protection. Notably, silencing the Cblb gene in vivo protects mice from lethal systemic C. albicans infection. Our data reveal that CBLB is crucial for homeostatic control of innate immune responses mediated by dectin-1 and dectin-2. Our data also indicate that CBLB...

In Britain, sexual health clinics (SHCs) are the most common location for STI diagnosis but many people with STI risk behaviours do not attend. We estimate prevalence of SHC attendance and how this varies by sociodemographic and... more

In Britain, sexual health clinics (SHCs) are the most common location for STI diagnosis but many people with STI risk behaviours do not attend. We estimate prevalence of SHC attendance and how this varies by sociodemographic and behavioural factors (including unsafe sex) and describe hypothetical service preferences for those reporting unsafe sex. Complex survey analyses of data from Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, a probability survey of 15 162 people aged 16-74 years, undertaken 2010-2012. Overall, recent attendance (past year) was highest among those aged 16-24 years (16.6% men, 22.4% women), decreasing with age (<1.5% among those 45-74 years). Approximately 15% of sexually-active 16-74 year olds (n=1002 men; n=1253 women) reported 'unsafe sex' (condomless first sex with a new partner and/or ≥2 partners and no condom use, past year); >75% of these had not attended a SHC (past year). However, of non-attenders aged 16-44 years, ...

We did a cross-sectional survey of patients attending genitourinary (GU) medicine clinics ( n = 933) and general practice-based Locally Enhanced Services for Sexual Health (GP-LESSH, n = 111) in Cornwall, England, in 2009/2010, to compare... more

We did a cross-sectional survey of patients attending genitourinary (GU) medicine clinics ( n = 933) and general practice-based Locally Enhanced Services for Sexual Health (GP-LESSH, n = 111) in Cornwall, England, in 2009/2010, to compare patients’ characteristics and experiences. Patients completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire that was then linked to an extract of their clinical data. GP-LESSH patients took longer both to seek and to receive care: medians of nine and seven days, respectively, versus GU medicine patients: medians of seven and one day, respectively. GP-LESSH patients were less likely than GU medicine patients to report symptoms (19.6% versus 30.6%) and sexual risk behaviours (33.3% versus 44.7% reported new partners) since recognizing needing to seek care; 5.0% versus 10.2% were men who have sex with men). However, they were equally likely to have sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnosed (23.3% versus 24.8%). As GP-LESSH may operate infrequently, local servi...

Polymorphic variants within human melanocortin-3 receptor gene (MC3R) gene have been associated with obesity. However, its influence on infancy and early childhood adiposity has not been reported before. We assessed associations between... more

Polymorphic variants within human melanocortin-3 receptor gene (MC3R) gene have been associated with obesity. However, its influence on infancy and early childhood adiposity has not been reported before. We assessed associations between genotype at polymorphic sites within MC3R with early childhood adiposity and interaction with early childhood appetitive traits. We studied 1090 singletons in an Asian mother-offspring cohort genotyped for MC3R and in a subgroup (n = 422) who had completed Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaires (CEBQ) at 12 months. Children were followed from birth to 48 months, and up to 10 measurements of body mass index and five measures of triceps and subscapular skin-folds were obtained. Independent of potential confounders, each additional MC3R minor allele copy was associated with greater body mass index standard deviation score [B{95% confidence interval}: 0.004 units/month {0.001,0.007}; p = 0.007], triceps [0.009 mm/month {0.001,0.02}; p = 0.021] and subscap...