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.

     

Further studies on the antinociceptive effects ofΔ acid

The antinociceptive effects of (THC-7-oic) acid have been investigated further with particular regard to the influence of certain experimental parameters in the hot plate test. These included the degree of the thermal stimulus, the nature of the vehicle and a possible role for copper in the response. A temperature effect similar to that seen with nonsteroidalantiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was observed, 55° produced observable antinociception, however, at a surface temperature of 58°C no drug effect was seen. Non-aqeous vehicles such as peanut oil increased the potency of THC-7-oic acid. Finally, the substitution of purified water for tap water reduced,the drug response which could be partially restored by adding copper to the purified drinking water. An increase in the inhibitory effect when copper was added was also seenin vitro in a cell culture model where the acid reduced prostaglandin synthesis induced by THC. Our findings suggest that THC-7-oic acid probably acts by mechanisms similar to the NSAIDs and that the above mentioned experimental conditions can greatly influence the outcome of studies with this agent.     

Multiple origins of polyploids in the Glycine tabacina complex inferred from chloroplast DNA polymorphism

The Glycine tabacina polyploid complex has been shown to include a minimum of two morphological and crossing groups, which also differ in chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction map and nuclear ribosomal gene repeat phenotype. These AAB2B2 and BBB2B2 G. tabacina polyploids contain plastomes referable to the A and B diploid plastome groups of subgenus Glycine, respectively. Eight different cpDNA variants were observed among the 65 B-type polyploids studied, six of which were identical for numerous restriction site characters to plastome types found among the highly polymorphic B genome diploid species. It is hypothesized that there have been numerous independent origins of polyploid G. tabacina: at least one AA x B2B2 event and a minimum of five BB x B2B2 events involving different BB types as female progenitor. Low amounts of cpDNA divergence between diploid and polyploid plastomes and among the plastomes of geographically disjunct polyploids suggest that the origin and dispersal of polyploids are relatively recent events. All hypothesized diploid progenitors are native to Australia, while both A- and B-type G. tabacina polyploids occur on islands of the Pacific outside the range of diploids. The presence of several different plastome types of polyploid G. tabacina in the Pacific islands suggests that several colonization events have occurred.     

Serotonin antagonists and vascular protection

Summary There is very suggestive evidence for a role of serotonin release from platelets in the mechanisms for platelet aggregation, arterial thrombosis, and arterial spasm. These effects are mediated via the 5HT₂ receptor and are specifically antagonized by ketanserin. The recently published PACK study was a randomized controlled trial of the effects of ketanserin in patients with intermittent claudication. The purpose of the trial was to discover whether ketanserin treatment would reduce the incidence of atherosclerotic complications such as myocardial infarction or stroke. An unexpected adverse interaction between ketanserin and potassium-losing diuretics was observed, causing an excess of deaths in the group taking this combination of drugs. The intention-to-treat analysis showed no overall difference between ketanserin and placebo in terms of cardiovascular complications. Withdrawal of patients taking potassium-losing diuretics left insufficient numbers of patients in the study to answer the original question. However, the on-treatment analysis excluding those taking the combination suggested strongly, although did not prove, that ketanserin reduced thrombotic episodes by about 25%. It is concluded that the risks of interactions between many drugs and potassium-losing diuretics make the use of the latter undesirable. Further studies on ketanserin, possibly combined with thromboxane A₂ inhibitors, seem highly desirable.     

An evaluation of the Australian government's policy of access and equity strategy in selected localities

Australia is a country of 17 million people from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. To respond to this diversity, the Australian Commonwealth Government in 1986 announced an Access and Equity Strategy as part of the Agenda for a Multicultural Australia. The Strategy was evaluated in 1991, and included five locality studies which assessed the implementation of the Strategy from the perspective of target groups of Aboriginal and non-English speaking people (NESB). This article describes this evaluation and the development of the Australian multicultural policy within which the Strategy is conceived. The findings and recommendations from the locality studies provide case examples of government wide policy development and implementation processes.     

House calls. Making politics work for you

The term "lobbyist" often brings up images of smoke-filled back rooms and dirty dealings, but the average person lobbies for some type of cause every day, whether drumming up support for a new project at work, for being promoted or just for getting a spouse to agree to paint the house a new color. In this era of health care reform, it's time to promote EMS as a viable health care entity by using these lobbying skills to make the politicians listen. You can bet that other health care groups are lobbying right now, and if you don't do it, EMS will be left out in the cold.     

Micronutrients: highlights and research challenges from the 1994-5 National Diet and Nutrition Survey of people aged 65 years and over

The aims of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey series are summarized, and the new National Diet and Nutrition Survey of people aged 65 years and over is explored, with particular emphasis on micronutrient intakes and status indices. Mean nutrient intakes were generally satisfactory for most micronutrients, but intakes of vitamin D, Mg, K and Cu were low. Intakes of vitamin D were far below the reference nutrient intake for people aged 65 years and over, and there was also biochemical evidence of vitamin D deficiency, for 8% of free-living and 37% of institution participants, attributed partly to limited exposure to sunlight. A substantial proportion of people living in institutions had inadequate biochemical status indices, notably for vitamin C, Fe and folate. Relationships between intake and status were close for vitamins. Mineral intakes did not correlate well with currently used status indices. Some intakes and indices, especially those of vitamin C, carotenoids, Na and K, were strongly correlated with socio-economic status and with north-south gradients in Britain. Future research challenges should address the functional and health significance of low intakes and sub-optimal biochemical indices for certain micronutrients, especially for people living in institutions; the shortcomings of mineral status indices especially as indicators of mineral intake; the social and geographical inequalities of micronutrient intakes and status, and why micronutrient status deteriorates with increasing age. The answers to these questions will help to define the characteristics of nutritional risk for older people in Britain, and to clarify future needs for education and intervention.