Rapid review of virus risk communication interventions: Directions for COVID-19

ObjectiveIn response to COVID-19, we conducted a rapid review of risk communication interventions to mitigate risk from viruses to determine if such interventions are efficacious.MethodsWe searched for risk communication interventions in four databases: Medline, PsycInfo, the ProQuest Coronavirus Research Database, and CENTRAL. The search produced 1572 articles. Thirty-one articles were included in the final review.ResultsResults showed risk communication interventions can produce cognitive and behavior changes around viruses. Results were more consistently positive for interventions focused on HIV/AIDS as compared to influenza. There was no consistent best intervention approach when comparing peer health, audio/visual, and intensive multi-media interventions. Tailoring risk communication toward a target population, in comparison to not tailoring, was related to better outcomes.ConclusionThe results suggest that risk communication interventions can be efficacious at reducing risk from viruses. They also highlight the complexity of risk communication interventions. Additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms that lead risk communication to reduce risk from viruses.Practical valueResults support risk communication interventions to reduce risk from viruses.     

Quantum dots functionalized with gH625 attenuate QDs oxidative stress and lethality in Caenorhabditis elegans: a model system

Ecotoxicology - Nanomaterials have revolutionized many scientific fields and are widely applied to address environmental problems and to develop novel health care strategies. However, their...     

Vascular Map Combined with CT Colonography for Evaluating Candidates for Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography colonography (CE-CTC) is a useful guide for the laparoscopic surgeon to avoid incorrectly removing the colonic segment and the failure to diagnose of synchronous colonic and extra-colonic lesions. Lymph node dissection and vessel ligation under a laparoscopic approach can be time-consuming and can damage vessels and organs. Moreover, mesenteric vessels have extreme variations in terms of their courses and numbers. We describe the benefit of using an abdominal vascular map created by CE-CTC in laparoscopic colorectal surgery candidates. We describe patients with different diseases (colorectal cancer, diverticular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease) who underwent CE-CTC just prior to laparoscopic surgery.     

Common carotid intima-media thickness in growth hormone (GH)-deficient adolescents: a prospective study after GH withdrawal and restarting GH replacement

We prospectively investigated the risk of early atherosclerosis, by classical cardiovascular risk factors and intima-media thickness (IMT) at the common carotid arteries, in 23 adolescents diagnosed as GH deficient (GHD) during childhood and in 23 healthy sex-, age-, and BMI-matched controls. Measurements were performed in all subjects before stopping GH replacement. Because the diagnosis of GHD had been confirmed in 15 of the 23 adolescents, the protocol changed according to the diagnosis as follows: measurements were repeated after 6 months of GH withdrawal and 6 months of GH reinstitution in the 15 with GHD, and after 6 and 12 months of GH withdrawal, measurements were also taken in the eight non-GHD subjects. Serum IGF-I levels were in the normal range for age in all patients before GH withdrawal. When compared with controls, before GH withdrawal, GHD adolescents had reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and increased total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, fibrinogen, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glucose levels; non-GHD adolescents had increased glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment score. IMT at the common carotid arteries was similar in GHD and controls (0.52 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.55 +/- 0.06 mm; P = 0.23) and was higher in non-GHD than in controls (0.62 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.54 +/- 0.06 mm; P = 0.01). In GHD adolescents, 6 months of GH treatment withdrawal and 6 months of GH treatment reinstitution modified IGF-I levels, lipid profile, and insulin resistance but not IMT or systolic and diastolic peak velocities at the common carotid arteries. In non-GHD subjects, 12 months of GH treatment withdrawal significantly decreased IGF-I levels, IMT (to 0.54 +/- 0.06 mm; P < 0.001 vs. baseline), systolic and diastolic peak velocities, and improved insulin resistance. In conclusion, the discontinuation of GH in confirmed GHD adolescents is not followed by significant alterations of the common carotid arteries, despite the profound negative alterations of the lipid profile. In adolescents who were not confirmed to have GHD, IMT was increased while on GH therapy and normalized when they were taken off of GH.     

A new variant of type II von Willebrand disease with aberrant multimeric structure of plasma but not platelet von Willebrand factor (type IIF)

A patient with a lifelong bleeding disorder was diagnosed as having Type II von Willebrand disease. The larger multimers of von Willebrand factor were absent from her plasma but present in platelets. A high- resolution electrophoretic technique was used to study the complex structure of individual von Willebrand factor multimers. In normal plasma, each multimer could be resolved into five bands: a more intense central one and four less intense, two moving faster and two slower than the central band. In normal platelets, each multimer could also be resolved into five bands. The central one had a mobility similar to that in plasma, whereas the four satellite bands had a mobility that differed from that of the corresponding plasma bands. In the patient, platelet von Willebrand factor antigen content and ristocetin cofactor activity were normal, and von Willebrand factor showed the same structure of individual multimers as seen in normal platelets. On the other hand, plasma von Willebrand factor antigen and ristocetin cofactor activity were decreased, and the structure of individual von Willebrand factor multimers was different from that of normal plasma and similar to that seen in normal and patient's platelets. After infusion of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin, the largest von Willebrand factor multimers, as well as new satellite bands with a mobility similar to those in normal plasma, appeared in the patient plasma, and the levels of von Willebrand factor antigen and ristocetin cofactor activity became normal. Yet no relevant change in the prolonged bleeding time was observed. This new variant of von Willebrand disease, therefore, is characterized by the presence of a dysfunctional von Willebrand factor molecule that exhibits unique structural abnormalities in plasma but appears to be normal in platelets. The designation of Type IIF is proposed for this type of von Willebrand disease in accordance with the terminology that has been previously used.     

Sustained correction of the bleeding time in an afibrinogenaemic patient after infusion of fresh frozen plasma

We have evaluated the duration of the effect of replacement therapy with two different doses of fibrinogen on the prolonged bleeding time of an afibrinogenaemic patient and the relationship between changes in bleeding time and plasma and platelet fibrinogen concentrations. The infusion of 40 mg/kg fibrinogen, as fresh frozen plasma (FFP), corrected the prolonged bleeding time of the patient from longer that 30 min to 8 min. The bleeding time was still normal 9 d after infusion, at a time when the plasma and platelet fibrinogen levels were low (0.13 g/l and 27 micrograms/10(9) platelets; normal ranges 1.6-4.0 and 60-190). Two months later, the infusion of a smaller dose of fibrinogen (4 mg/kg) also corrected the bleeding time, which remained normal until the second day after infusion, despite the fact that plasma and platelet fibrinogen were very low (0.02 g/l and 3.4 micrograms/10(9) platelets). The bleeding time returned to the prolonged baseline values only by day 6 post-infusion, when plasma and platelet fibrinogen levels were 4 x 10(-4) g/l and 1.4 micrograms/10(9) platelets. Therefore, sustained correction of the prolonged bleeding time may be obtained in afibrinogenaemic patients with a single infusion of fibrinogen at lower doses than usually recommended.     

Platelet glycoproteins IIb and IIIa as a calcium channel in liposomes

Human platelet membrane glycoproteins IIb and IIIa (GPIIb and IIIa) were incorporated into phospholipid vesicles by the reverse-phase technique to assess the ability of GPIIb and IIIa to function as a Ca2+ channel. Movement of Ca2+ across the lipid bilayer was quantitated by injection of proteoliposomes with encapsulated Fura-2 into Ca2+ buffers and measurement of Fura-2 fluorescence as an indicator of Ca2+ influx. Reciprocally, to assess the function of proteins in an inside-out orientation, Ca2+-loaded vesicles were injected into Ca2+-free buffer and Ca2+ efflux monitored by a calcium electrode. Incorporation of the IIb-IIIa complex produced significant facilitation of Ca2+ movement across the lipid bilayer. No net transmembrane Ca2+ movement was seen with dissociated IIb and IIIa. Movement of Ca2+ was proportional to the transmembrane Ca2+ gradient. Ca2+ movement into the vesicles was inversely proportional to extravesicular NaCl from 25 to 150 mmol/L, analogous to several studies in the intact platelet. Adenosine triphosphate had no effect on Ca2+ movement into or out of the vesicles. Specific inhibition of a Ca2+ shift into the vesicles was seen with M148, a monoclonal antibody to IIb/IIIa, while no inhibition was observed with a panel of other anti-IIb/IIIa monoclonal antibodies. This suggests that a specific site on the complex or orientation of the complex is essential for calcium channel function. These data demonstrate that the GPIIb/IIIa complex can serve as a passive Ca2+ channel across a phospholipid bilayer and has the potential to play a role in Ca2+ flux across the platelet plasma membrane.     

Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy: a histopathological and immunohistochemical study

Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy is an uncommon neoplasm that normally occurs in the anterior maxilla of children less than 1 year of age. This is a tumor with controversial origin, although neural crest origin is proposed. This case report presents an analysis of histopathological and immunohistochemical findings in this rare tumor.