Clinical utility of PTSD,resilience, sleep,and blast as risk factors to predict poor neurobehavioral functioning following traumatic brain injury: A longitudinal study in U.S. military service members

Quality of Life Research - This study examined the clinical utility of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low resilience, poor sleep, and lifetime blast exposure as risk factors for predicting...     

Partners’ Consensus About Joint Effort and COVID-19 Prevention Among Sexual Minority Men

The current study examined the relevance of relationship functioning to partners’ agreement or consensus about joint effort surrounding COVID-19 prevention. Interdependence theory has been widely used to understand how relationship partners influence health behavior, including how sexual minority male (SMM) couples regulate HIV risk. Couples with better relationship functioning tend to be more successful at negotiating joint (shared) goals and subsequently accomplishing them. The study recruited 134 cis-male, SARS-CoV-2 negative adults in relationships with cis-male partners from phone-based social networking applications. Participants completed an online survey assessing relationship functioning (Perceived Relationship Components Questionnaire), COVID-19 prevention behaviors, and risk perceptions. Partners’ consensus around joint COVID-19 prevention effort was assessed using an adapted version of the Preferences for Sexual Health Outcomes scale. Path analyses indicated that consensus for joint prevention effort predicted social distancing (B?=?0.23; p?=?.001) and the number of other COVID-19 prevention behaviors engaged in (B?=?0.17; p?=?.003) above and beyond perceived risk and relationship functioning. Relationship satisfaction predicted higher levels of consensus for joint COVID-19 prevention effort (B?=?0.40; p?=?.029). Findings suggest that the theoretical foundations of successful HIV prevention interventions that utilize joint goal formation may generalize to the prediction of COVID-19 prevention behavior and may be leveraged to mitigate the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among SMM in relationships. Interventions that overlook the potential for dyadic regulation of health behavior may miss opportunities to capitalize on shared coping resources and fail to address relational barriers to prevention.

     

Unpredictable and uncontrollable stress impairs neuronal plasticity in the rat hippocampus

Almost by definition, learning and the effect of stress on learning represent modifications of existing neuronal circuitry. Under some circumstances, this modification can be measured electrophysiologically. One such measure of plasticity is long-term potentiation (LTP), a long-lasting increase in synaptic efficacy following brief exposure to tetanic stimulation. In 1987, Foy et al. reported that hippocampal LTP was impaired by exposure to inescapable shock. We have recent evidence that the impairment in LTP can be prevented by allowing the animal to learn to escape the shock (Shors et al., 1989), indicating that the stress effect is to some extent mediated by "psychological" variables. Regardless of LTP's putative role in learning and memory processes, such a stress-induced decrease in neuronal plasticity is likely to have profound effects on the behaving organism.     

Women in general practice in New Zealand

AIM: To investigate the role of women general practitioners (GPs) in New Zealand. METHOD: A five-page questionnaire was posted to 200 randomly selected women GPs from throughout New Zealand. One follow-up mailing was sent. RESULTS: A response rate of 79% was achieved. Twenty-four percent of women GPs work less than 5/10 but 46% earn less than $40000. Forty-eight percent of women GPs' partners also earn less than $40000. The most common reason for working part-time was parenting responsibilities. Eighty-seven percent are married or live with a partner, 77% have children, 48% have preschool-aged children. Only 15% have Membership of the RNZCGP and 57% are owner or partner in their practice. CONCLUSION: Women GPs suffer both professional and financial difficulties because of their dual motherhood/professional roles.     

Surgical management of intra-abdominal desmoid tumours

BACKGROUND: Intra-abdominal desmoids are uncommon neoplasms. The aggressive nature of these tumours and the potential for major morbidity secondary to resection can present a difficult surgical dilemma. METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed intra-abdominal desmoid tumours undergoing laparotomy were identified from a prospective database. Clinical features and outcomes in this group were evaluated. RESULTS: The study group comprised 24 patients. Sixteen patients underwent complete resection of the tumour while eight had biopsy only, with or without intestinal bypass. Small intestinal resection was performed in 12 patients, including three who had a near-total enterectomy. Median follow-up was 62 months, with an actuarial overall survival rate of 73 per cent at 10 years. There was no difference in survival rate between completely resected and unresected patients (P = 0.73). There were seven deaths in the entire group, of which four were in those undergoing complete resection. CONCLUSION: Operation can cure patients with intra-abdominal desmoid tumours, but may result in significant morbidity, especially from loss of small intestine. No other therapy is a predictably good alternative to operation but the natural history of desmoids is often characterized by prolonged periods of stability or even regression. A period of watchful waiting, until significant symptoms develop, may be the most appropriate course in patients who risk mesenteric vascular injury or substantial enterectomy with attempts at resection.     

Engineering the follicle microenvironment

In vitro ovarian follicle culture provides a tool to investigate folliculogenesis, and may one day provide women with fertility-preservation options. The application of tissue engineering principles to ovarian follicle maturation may enable the creation of controllable microenvironments that will coordinate the growth of the multiple cellular compartments within the follicle. Three-dimensional culture systems can preserve follicle architecture, thereby maintaining critical cell-cell and cell-matrix signaling lost in traditional two-dimensional attached follicle culture systems. Maintaining the follicular structure while manipulating the biochemical and mechanical environment will enable the development of controllable systems to investigate the fundamental biological principles underlying follicle maturation. This review describes recent advances in ovarian follicle culture, and highlights the tissue engineering principles that may be applied to follicle culture, with the ultimate objective of germline preservation for females facing premature infertility.