Predictors of condom use behaviour among male street labourers in urban Vietnam using a modified Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model

HIV risk in vulnerable groups such as itinerant male street labourers is often examined via a focus on individual determinants. This study provides a test of a modified Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model to predict condom use behaviour among male street workers in urban Vietnam. In a cross-sectional survey using a social mapping technique, 450 male street labourers from 13 districts of Hanoi, Vietnam were recruited and interviewed. Collected data were first examined for completeness; structural equation modelling was then employed to test the model fit. Condoms were used inconsistently by many of these men, and usage varied in relation to a number of factors. A modified IMB model had a better fit than the original IMB model in predicting condom use behaviour. This modified model accounted for 49% of the variance, versus 10% by the original version. In the modified model, the influence of psychosocial factors was moderately high, whilst the influence of HIV prevention information, motivation and perceived behavioural skills was moderately low, explaining in part the limited level of condom use behaviour. This study provides insights into social factors that should be taken into account in public health planning to promote safer sexual behaviour among Asian male street labourers.     

Effects of incentives,age, and behavior on brain activation during inhibitory control: A longitudinal fMRI study

We investigated changes in brain function supporting inhibitory control under age-controlled incentivized conditions, separating age- and performance-related activation in an accelerated longitudinal design including 10- to 22-year-olds. Better inhibitory control correlated with striatal activation during neutral trials, while Age X Behavior interactions in the striatum indicated that in the absence of extrinsic incentives, younger subjects with greater reward circuitry activation successfully engage in greater inhibitory control. Age was negatively correlated with ventral amygdala activation during Loss trials, suggesting that amygdala function more strongly mediates bottom-up processing earlier in development when controlling the negative aspects of incentives to support inhibitory control. Together, these results indicate that with development, reward-modulated cognitive control may be supported by incentive processing transitions in the amygdala, and from facilitative to obstructive striatal function during inhibitory control.     

The Importance of Venous Return in Starling‐Like Control of Rotary Ventricular Assist Devices

Rotary ventricular assist devices (VADs) are less sensitive to preload than the healthy heart, resulting in inadequate flow regulation in response to changes in patient cardiac demand. Starling‐like physiological controllers (SLCs) have been developed to automatically regulate VAD flow based on ventricular preload. An SLC consists of a cardiac response curve (CRC) which imposes a nonlinear relationship between VAD flow and ventricular preload, and a venous return line (VRL) which determines the return path of the controller. This study investigates the importance of a physiological VRL in SLC of dual rotary blood pumps for biventricular support. Two experiments were conducted on a physical mock circulation loop (MCL); the first compared an SLC with an angled physiological VRL (SLC‐P) against an SLC with a vertical VRL (SLC‐V). The second experiment quantified the benefit of a dynamic VRL, represented by a series of specific VRLs, which could adapt to different circulatory states including changes in pulmonary (PVR) and systemic (SVR) vascular resistance versus a fixed physiological VRL which was calculated at rest. In both sets of experiments, the transient controller responses were evaluated through reductions in preload caused by the removal of fluid from the MCL. The SLC‐P produced no overshoot or oscillations following step changes in preload, whereas SLC‐V produced 0.4 L/min (12.5%) overshoot for both left and right VADs. Additionally, the SLC‐V had increased settling time and reduced controller stability as evidenced by transient controller oscillations. The transient results comparing the specific and standard VRLs demonstrated that specific VRL rise times were improved by between 1.2 and 4.7 s ( = 3.05 s), while specific VRL settling times were improved by between 2.8 and 16.1 seconds ( = 8.38 s) over the standard VRL. This suggests only a minor improvement in controller response time from a dynamic VRL compared to the fixed VRL. These results indicate that the use of a fixed physiologically representative VRL is adequate over a wide variety of physiological conditions.     

2015—2017年解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的使用情况分析

目的 了解解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的应用情况与用药趋势。方法 采用世界卫生组织（WHO）推荐的以限定日剂量（DDD）为指标的分析方法，对2015-2017年解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的销售金额、用药频度（DDDs）、日均费用（DDC）及排序比（B/A）等进行统计分析。结果 普拉克索、多巴丝肼和恩他卡朋的用药金额始终处于前3位，普拉克索的用药金额逐渐上升，卡比多巴/左旋多巴的用药金额逐渐下降；DDDs排序列前2位的是多巴丝肼和司来吉兰，多巴丝肼的DDDs逐年上升，一直处于第1位；2015-2016年各种抗震颤麻痹药物的DDC较为稳定，2016-2017年各种抗震颤麻痹药物的DDC开始略有下降；除普拉克索和恩他卡朋的B/A始终小于1.00，其他抗震颤麻痹药物的B/A均在1.00以上波动。结论 解放军总医院抗震颤麻痹药物的使用较为合理，其中多巴丝肼、普拉克索和司来吉兰具有很好的市场前景。     

How Do Students Source and Supply Drugs? Characteristics of the University Illegal Drug Trade

Background: It is widely known that a proportion of university students use drugs. However, much less is known about how they source and supply their drugs. Objectives: In this article, we investigate student drug trading activity, including how they obtained their drugs, whether they sold drugs, and the extent to which their drug trading might be described as a form of “social supply”. Methods: A survey was conducted of all students across seven of the nine universities of Wales. In total, 7855 students submitted a questionnaire and 1877 of these reported drug use in the current academic year. All students who reported using one or more illegal drugs in the current academic year were asked how they obtained their drugs, how they funded their drug use, whether they had sold, traded or given away illegal drugs, along with their motives for drug trading. Results: The results showed that about half of users obtained drugs solely from friends and associates and one-fifth obtained them solely from external dealers. One-quarter used friends and associates as well as external markets. In many cases, supplying drugs amounted to sharing them or giving them away. However, over one-third of students said that they had sold drugs. Conclusions: Overall, the methods of sourcing and supplying drug among university students shares features of both “social supply” and “traditional” drug markets. We conclude that the student drug market investigated is best described as a “hybrid” combination of both.     

Research on medication use in the neonatal intensive care unit

Introduction: Research on medication use aims at assessing how much of current pharmacotherapy is rational. In neonates, this is hampered by extensive off-label drug use and limited knowledge.

Areas covered: We report on medication use research and have conducted a systematic review of observational studies on medication use to provide an updated overview on characteristics, objectives, methods, and patterns in hospitalized neonates. Moreover, a review on aspects of medication use for opioids, anti-epileptics, gastric acid-related disorders and respiratory stimulants with emphasis on trends and impact of interventions is presented, illustrating how research on medication use can contribute to improved neonatal pharmacotherapy and more focused research. Medication use reports describe patterns and provide signals on irrational use, benchmarking, or can guide research priorities. Moreover, this may generate information on how neonatal health topics and their pharmacotherapy are handled over time or across regions.

Expert opinion: Research on medicine utilization is relevant, since it will inform us on aspects like trends, variability, or about the impact and pattern of implementation of guidelines in neonates. Further progress necessitates to merge datasets on medication use with clinical characteristics, and perinatal drug use remains an area in need of additional research.