"What upsets me most about AIDS is ...": a survey of children and adolescents

While AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes have been studied in different populations, little attention has been given to emotional reactions to the epidemic or to the validity of frequently employed forced-choice questionnaires. Spontaneous emotional reactions to the AIDS crisis were assessed in 441 fifth, seventh, and tenth graders from one school district. Students responded to one open-ended question, "What upsets me most about AIDS is...." Loglinear analysis revealed grade as a significant variable: fifth graders were most upset by AIDS' lethality, while tenth graders felt helpless. Cognitive and emotional factors were postulated to account for these differences. Students who correctly responded to knowledge-related, open-ended questions were likely to correctly answer comparable forced-choice questions. AIDS education strategies that consider grade-specific anxieties are suggested.     

Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on male reproductive health

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to more than 160 million infections and 3.5 million deaths globally. Men are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, having more severe disease with higher mortality rates than women. Androgens have been implicated as the underlying cause for more severe disease, as the androgen receptor has been noted to upregulate the cell surface receptors that mediate viral cell entry and infection. Unfortunately, despite testosterone’s potential role in COVID-19 prognosis, androgen deprivation therapy is neither protective nor a treatment for COVID-19. Interestingly, the male reproductive organs have been found to be vulnerable in moderate to severe illness, leading to reports of erectile dysfunction and orchitis. COVID-19 viral particles have been identified in penile and testis tissue, both in live patients who recovered from COVID-19 and post mortem in men who succumbed to the disease. Although sexual transmission remains unlikely in recovered men, moderate to severe COVID-19 infection can lead to germ cell and Leydig cell depletion, leading to decreased spermatogenesis and male hypogonadism. The objective of this review is to describe the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive health. There are still many unanswered questions as to the specific underlying mechanisms by which COVID-19 impacts male reproductive organs and the long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproductive health.     

Percutaneous management of penetrating aortic ulcer

Penetrating aortic ulcer is a variant of classic aortic dissection having distinct histopathological characteristics. If not appropriately treated, it evolves to combined morbidity and mortality rates as high as those of classic dissection. This condition, therefore, warrants special attention with accurate diagnosis and treatment. Percutaneous management using endoprosthesis is the method of choice, since the patients are usually elderly and have comorbidities that would increase the complication rates of traditional surgery. A 78-year-old woman complaining of thoracic pain was admitted to the hospital; her pain had been radiating to the interscapular and left lumbar regions for four months. Upon diagnostic investigation, a penetrating aortic ulcer was found, and after being successfully treated percutaneously with stent implantation, the patient became asymptomatic and is under outpatient follow-up.     

Behavioral adjustment in children with asthma: a meta-analysis.

This study is a meta-analytic review of the behavioral adjustment of children and adolescents with asthma. Of 78 studies initially reviewed, 26 studies (encompassing 28 data sets), reflecting data on nearly 5,000 children with asthma (mean age = 8.4 years; 40% female), met criteria for inclusion. Effect size estimates were calculated across studies using standard methods. Separate effect sizes were calculated for internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, degrees of asthma severity, and differences in control group used (i.e., sample controls or normative data). Results indicate that children with asthma have more behavioral difficulties than do healthy children, with the effect for internalizing behaviors being greater than that for externalizing behaviors (d(mn) = .73 vs .40). Increased asthma severity was associated with greater behavioral difficulties. Results did not differ by comparison group (healthy controls vs normative data). The findings suggest that patients with asthma, particularly children with severe asthma, should be considered at higher risk for behavioral difficulties that may necessitate psychosocial intervention.     

Über den Einfluß der Korrelation de Nährstoffe auf die Resorption des Zuckers

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 11 Abbildungen im Text.     

Symptom perception and functional morbidity across a 1-year follow-up in pediatric asthma

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between asthma symptom perception measured during a 5-6 week baseline and functional morbidity measured prospectively across a 1-year follow-up. Symptom perception was measured by comparing subjective ratings with peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)). We hypothesized that accurate symptom perception (ASP) would be associated with less functional morbidity. Participants consisted of 198 children with asthma ages 7-17 recruited from three sites. The children used a programmable electronic spirometer in the home setting to guess their PEFR prior to exhalation. Each "subjective" guess was classified as being in an ASP, dangerous symptom perception (DSP; underestimation of symptoms), or symptom magnification (SM; overestimation) zone based upon the corresponding measurement of PEFR or FEV(1). An index of functional morbidity was collected by parent report at baseline and across 1-year follow-up. A greater proportion of ASP blows and a lower proportion of DSP blows based on PEFR predicted less functional morbidity reported at baseline, independent of asthma severity and race/ethnicity. A greater proportion of ASP blows (using PEFR and FEV(1)) and a lower proportion of SM blows (using FEV(1)) predicted less functional morbidity across 1-year follow-up. Symptom perception was not associated with emergency department visits for asthma at baseline or across follow-up. In comparison to PEFR, FEV(1) more frequently detected a decline in pulmonary function that children did not report. Symptom perception measured in naturalistic settings was associated with functional morbidity at baseline and prospectively across 1-year follow-up. Support was found for including multiple measures of pulmonary function in the assessment of asthma symptom perception.     

Skorbut und Infekt Beim Meerschweinchen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Positive troponin T in a chagasic patient with sustained ventricular tachycardia and no obstructive lesions on cine coronary angiography

The assessment and stratification of patients with chest pain in the emergency unit may indicate the appropriate therapy for each patient based on the probability of the presence of acute coronary artery disease and on the risk of its major cardiac events. That assessment is based on the triplet: clinical setting, electrocardiographic findings, and markers of myocardial lesion. We report the case of a 58-year-old male chagasic patient admitted to the emergency unit due to chest pain and palpitations, with an electrocardiogram showing sustained ventricular tachycardia and positive troponin measurement (0.99 ng/mL). The patient underwent cine coronary angiography, which evidenced no obstructive coronary artery disease.     

Miliary tuberculosis following homograft valve replacement.

Postoperative septicaemia with infective endocarditis is a recognized complication of open-heart surgery, in particular homograft or prosthetic replacement of cardiac valves. Several infective organisms, both bacterial and fungal, have been incriminated but infection due to tubercle bacilli has not, to our knowledge, been reported. The clinicopathological features of this condition are discussed. During a five-year period, over 800 homograft replacements in the aortic and/or mitral positions have been performed at Harefield Hospital. Seven cases of miliary tuberculosis following homograft valve replacement are descrbied here. In three, there was a past history suggestive of tuberculosis infections but necropsy failed to reveal any caseous or other tuberculous lesion apart from recent miliary tuberculosis. Vegetations on the homograft valves contained microcolonies of acid-fast bacilli in most cases. Tubercle bacilli of the human type were recovered by culture or guinea-pig inoculation in six of the seven cases, and in three the diagnosis was established during life; two of these survived on antituberculosis chemotherapy. The onset of symptoms varied from a few weeks to 12 months after operation. The main presenting symptom was intermittent pyrexia. In two patients the diagnosis was made on radiological and clinical grounds and in both, tubercle bacilli were grown from drill biopsy specimens of lung tissue. The source of infection was presumed to be the homograft valves contaminated in the postmorten room. The antibiotic mixture used in the sterilization of the homografts was not effective against tubercle bacilli.