AIDS (Disease)

Understanding the host response immediately following mucosal HIV-1
infection will be pivotal in determining whether the immune response induced by
a vaccine will successfully sense and control viral replication. In order for
effective vaccine strategies and modalities to be developed, these earliest
immunological events must be fully assessed in a non-biased manner.
Nonhuman primates (NHP), specifically Rhesus macaques (RM), serve as a
model to investigate the immunological landscape immediately post-challenge
and to define the spatiotemporal path of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV).
SIV infection of RM serves as a model of human HIV infection as it recapitulates
many of the virological, immunological, and pathological features of HIV infection in the human host. In this thesis I will test the hypothesis whether
transcriptional analysis will allow a sensitive measure of the early innate immune
responses that accompany detection of the SIV virus in the periphery. I have
determined that an early inflammatory profile arises early in tissues proximal to
the challenge site that precedes widespread immune activation and the systemic
antiviral interferon response. This study defines in detail the spatiotemporal
relationship between virus and host immune response and may be a valuable
resource in guiding future vaccine design strategies.

The complex problems of the twenty-first century cannot be effectively addressed with twentieth century top-down bureaucratic governance alone because of limited stakeholder participation in collective decision making and/or implementation. The somewhat limited stakeholder participation in the policy process, especially, that of target populations, can impact generating viable solutions to complex problems. Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional management in addressing contemporary complex problems. Collaborative governance is thus a type of governance that promotes joint participation of state and non-state stakeholders in decision making and/or implementation by using agreed upon processes of engagement to collectively address problems. Such governance is especially beneficial for addressing the challenges posed by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This dissertation uses the collaborative governance concept to explicate the efforts of HIV Health Services Planning Councils in Broward County and Palm Beach County of South Florida with the purpose of accentuating how collaborative governance works in providing various categories of services to meet the needs of people with AIDS (PWAs), as part of the implementation of the Ryan White CARE Act. The study focuses on critical variables of collaborative governance such as facilitative leadership and institutional design, the collaborative process variables such as trust building, commitment to the process and shared understanding, and outputs such as allocation priorities of the Councils. This study employed mixed methods in collecting data from various relevant sources.

Diminished affective behavior is a frequently observed concomitant of cognitive dysfunction in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), yet little is known about their relationship. A neuropsychological battery and electroencephalogram (EEG) recording was conducted on 29 HIV+ (Mage = 35.6 years, SD =5.36) and 30 HIV- (Mage =32.9 years, SD =6.39) women recruited from a family AIDS care program in South Florida. Using an emotion regulation paradigm, we compared event-related potentials (ERPs) following cues to view-neutral, view-negative and reappraise-negative images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). A group X instruction interaction was found for the P200 and early (400-1000 ms) late positive potential (LPP). Executive function, i.e., frequent task-switching predicted the attenuation of the early and late LPP following cues to up-regulate negative emotions. Greater response inhibition predicted attenuation of the LPP during the down-regulation of negative emotions. These findings suggest limited cognitive resources for the reappraisal of emotions in women with HIV.

This study investigates the relationship of three protective factors : self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. It is the first study to explore the relationships of these protective factors to well-being. A convenience sample of 115 adults living with HIV or AIDS completed the Self-Transcendance Scale, the Social Interest Index- Short Form-Revised, the Spiritual Perspective Scale, and the Index of Well-Being. The participants were adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS residing in a large southeastern U.S. city. Data were analyzed with correlational and multiple regression methods. Statistically significant positive moderate to strong relationships were found between well-being and self transcendance (r=.66, p<.001 ), social interest (r=.51, p<.001), and spirituality (r=.39, p<.001). A stepwise regression demonstrated that self transcendance held the highest variance on well-being among the three protective factors (43%). Additionally, self-transcendane and social interest accounted for 45% of the variance in well-being. In short, the hypothesized positive relationship among these protective factors with well-being was supported. This study provides theoretical and empirical support for linking self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. The clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.

Resource allocation theory, Polich (2007) suggests cortical measures may attenuate when processing demands increase. Thirteen HIV-negative women (M = 36.5) and 15 HIV-positive women (M = 36.1) infected were instructed to view neutral and negative IAPS images and then to detect rare tones in a subsequent auditory oddball task. A 2 x 2 ANOVA for the auditory P3 did not indicate a main effect for picture valence however an interaction was found between picture valence and serostatus at location Fz, F(1,24) = 18.99, p<.001. During the visual ERP sequence an interaction between valence and serostatus was found at the Pz location, F(1,24) = 18.99, p<.001, meaning the late positive potential (LPP) was not modulated between viewing neutral and negative images in HIV-positive women. These findings suggest that the manifestation of HIV in women may alter the neural processing of emotions, though not to the detriment of a subsequent cognitive task.

In 2006, there were over 39 million people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) worldwide, and 2.9 million HIV-related deaths. Currently, a cocktail of drugs administered via injection (HAART) has some efficacy in treating HIV, but does not eradicate HIV from infected individuals and has long-term side effects. In addition, drug-resistant variants of HIV are emerging. In an effort to help develop orally administered anti-HIV drugs, we examined membrane permeability of four scaffold peptides (synthesized by a researcher at Scripps Florida) into T-cells. One peptide (KE1-72A) entered cells with 100% efficiency; a second (KE1-72B) showed minimal cell penetration. Two other peptides (KE1-72C and KE1-72D), when chemically conjugated to an HIV fusion inhibitor, also showed minimal cell penetration. Further research is needed to determine whether the peptide KE1-72A may potentially be useful in orally delivered anti-HIV drugs.