Differences in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior and Food Insecurity by HIV Status in Nigeria

AIDS and Behavior - The aim of the study was to assess if there were significant differences in the adoption of COVID-19 risk preventive behaviors and experience of food insecurity by people living...     

Brief and extended abstinence from chronic oral methylphenidate treatment produces reversible behavioral and physiological effects

Methylphenidate (MP) is a commonly prescribed psychostimulant to individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and is often used illicitly among healthy individuals with intermittent breaks to coincide with breaks from school. This study examined how intermittent abstinence periods impact the physiological and behavioral effects of chronic oral MP self-administration in rats, and whether these effects persist following prolonged abstinence from the drug. Rats were treated orally with water, low-dose (LD), or high-dose (HD) MP, beginning at PND 28. This daily access continued for three consecutive weeks followed by a 1-week abstinence; after three repeats of this cycle, there was a 5-week abstinence period. Throughout the study, we examined body weight, food intake, locomotor activity, and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. During the treatment phase, HD MP decreased body weight, food intake, and depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, while it increased locomotor activity. During intermittent abstinence, the effects of MP on locomotor activity were eliminated. During prolonged abstinence, most of the effects of HD MP were ameliorated to control levels, with the exception of weight loss and anxiolytic effects. These findings suggest that intermittent exposure to chronic MP causes physiological and behavioral effects that are mostly reversible following prolonged abstinence.     

Complementary therapy in chronic wound management: a holistic caring case study and praxis model

Holistic caring consists of providing care to each aspect of a patient's life through the use of therapeutic caring and complementary or alternative healing modalities. Since nursing consists of caring for the whole person and not just the disease process, consideration of a patient's physical, emotional, social, economic, spiritual, and cultural needs is necessary in dealing with any chronic health problem such as chronic wounds. In this model case studies presentation, the purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of the holistic caring approach and the use of complementary and alternative medicine or therapeutic modalities in chronic wound management. The use or role of theory in practice will also be discussed to emphasize the holistic caring praxis model used in the holistic assessment and holistic plan of care for the cases presented. This article also presents a framework that will help wound care and holistic nurses move from simply the positivist-modernist philosophy to begin to embrace the postmodernist philosophy.     

The emerging role of T cell Ig mucin 1 in alloimmune responses in an experimental mouse transplant model

T cell Ig mucin 1 (TIM-1) plays an important role in regulating immune responses in autoimmune and asthma models, and it is expressed on both Th1 and Th2 cells. Using an antagonistic TIM-1-specific antibody, we studied the role of TIM-1 in alloimmunity. A short course of TIM-1-specific antibody monotherapy prolonged survival of fully MHC-mismatched vascularized mouse cardiac allografts. This prolongation was associated with inhibition of alloreactive Th1 responses and preservation of Th2 responses. TIM-1-specific antibody treatment was more effective in Th1-type cytokine-deficient Stat4(-/-) recipients as compared with Th2-type cytokine-deficient Stat6(-/-) recipients. Subtherapeutic doses of rapamycin plus TIM-1-specific antibody resulted in allograft acceptance and prevented the development of chronic allograft vasculopathy. Allograft survival via this treatment was accompanied by a Th1- to Th2-type cytokine switch. Depletion of natural Tregs abrogated the graft-protecting effect of the TIM-1-specific antibody. Importantly, CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs obtained from long-term survivors had enhanced regulatory activity as compared with naive CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs. Consistent with this, TIM-1-specific antibody treatment both preserved Tregs and prevented the expansion of alloreactive effector Th1 cells in an alloreactive TCR transgenic adoptive transfer model. These studies define previously unknown functions of TIM-1 in regulating alloimmune responses in vivo and may provide a novel approach to promoting transplantation tolerance.     

Television, walking, and diet: associations with postpartum weight retention

BACKGROUND: For many women, pregnancy begets long-term weight gain. Modifiable behaviors that contribute to postpartum weight retention have not been well studied. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 902 women enrolled in Project Viva, examining associations of postpartum television viewing, walking, and trans fat intake with weight retention equal to or greater than 5 kg at 12 months postpartum. Data were collected in 1999-2003 and analyzed in 2005-2006. RESULTS: At 6 months postpartum, women reported a mean (SD) of 1.7 (1.3) hours of television viewing, 0.7 (0.7) hours of walking, and 1.1% (0.5) of energy intake from trans fat per day. At 1 year, participants retained a mean of 0.6 kg (range: -17.3 to 25.5), and 12% retained at least 5 kg. In multivariate logistic regression models, adjusting for maternal sociodemographics, parity, prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, breastfeeding, and smoking, the odds ratio of retaining at least 5 kg was 1.24 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-1.46) per daily hour of television viewing, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.46-0.94) per daily hour of walking, and 1.33 (95% CI: 1.09-1.62) per 0.5% increment in daily energy intake from trans fat. Women who watched less than 2 hours of television, walked at least 30 minutes, and consumed trans fat below the median had an odds ratio of 0.23 (95% CI: 0.08-0.66) of retaining at least 5 kg. CONCLUSIONS: Postpartum television viewing, walking, and trans fat intake were associated with weight retention. Interventions to modify these behaviors may help reduce excess postpartum weight gain and prevent obesity among women.     

Prevalence of dermatophytosis in junior secondary schoolchildren in Ogun State, Nigeria

A total of 2772 randomly selected junior secondary school pupils (aged 8-14) from 60 schools were examined for dermatophytic infections by direct microscopy and culture-based laboratory diagnostic methods. Of these, 641 (23.21%) had dermatophytosis. Out of these, 376 (13.56%) were male while 265 (9.56%) were female. Aetiological agents identified with infection were Microsporum canis (30.19%), Microsporum audouinii (32.92%), Trichophyton interdigitale (14.37%), Trichophyton soudanense (9.73%) and Trichophyton tonsurans (12.05%). Most of the dermatophytes encountered were anthropophilic species. Microsporum canis was the only zoophilic dermatophyte. Differences were not observed in infection pattern for all the different geo-political zones that make up the state. The head and the skin of the students were more frequently infected than the nails and toes. Infection frequency increased steadily up to age 11 after which it drastically decreased.     

Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene in Posterior-Stabilized Total Knee Arthroplasty : In Vitro Performance Evaluation of Wear, Delamination, and Tibial Post Durability

Recent advances in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) include the development of highly crosslinked polyethylene (HXPE). To assess the suitability of using HXPE in posterior-stabilized TKA, knee simulator wear testing and a novel tibial post durability test were performed on a modern posterior-stabilized implant design with both conventional polyethylene (CPE) and HXPE materials. The laboratory testing reproduced clinically relevant wear and tibial post damage mechanisms. For the designs tested, wear volume was reduced by 67% to 75% for aged HXPE compared with aged CPE. Components of HXPE also demonstrated superior tibial post durability compared with the CPE design, despite the use of unaged material to represent best-case CPE tibial post strength. With appropriate design considerations, HXPE can be successfully incorporated into a posterior-stabilized TKA.