Inadequate dietary calcium and vitamin D intakes in renal-transplant recipients in Ireland.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the dietary calcium and vitamin D intake in adult renal-transplant recipients attending at a large teaching hospital in Ireland for follow-up. SETTING: Outpatient renal-transplant follow-up clinic. SUBJECTS: Fifty-nine adult renal transplant recipients (58% male) with a mean age of 46 years, a median transplant duration of 6 years, and a mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 50 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Fifty-three percent were at National Kidney Foundation stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and 14% had stage 4 chronic kidney disease. INTERVENTION: This cross-sectional, observational study used a tailored food frequency questionnaire specific for calcium and vitamin D intake in Irish adults, which was completed during a face-to-face interview with each subject. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure was the average daily dietary and supplemented calcium and vitamin D intake. RESULTS: The median interquartile range (IQR) dietary calcium intake was 820 mg/day (range, 576-1,177 mg/day), and was similar in men and women (recommended intake > or = 1,000 mg/day in adult men and nonmenopausal adult women, > or = 1,500 mg/day in menopausal women). Five participants received calcium supplementation. Overall, 59% of men and 64% of women had total calcium intakes below the recommended amounts. The median IQR estimated dietary vitamin D intake was 5.2 microg/day (range, 2.4-6.4 microg/day) in women, and 4.6 microg/day (range, 2.2-6.6 microg/day) in men (recommended intake, > or = 10 microg/day). Six subjects received vitamin D supplementation. Total vitamin D intakes were suboptimal in 91% of men and 87% of women. Dietary calcium and vitamin D intakes significantly correlated with each other, but neither was significantly related to eGFR category, and was similarly low in both presumed menopausal women and in the initial year posttransplantation. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that dietary and total calcium and vitamin D intakes in adult renal-transplant patients are in many cases inadequate.     

Concurrent oral and genital infection with HPV DNA types 6 and 11 in a heterosexual male

Objective Detection of HPV DNA in oral and genital lesions of a heterosexual male. 4 months after oral and vaginal intercourse with a woman with vulvar warts. Passible modes of acquisition of oral HPV infection in the male sexual partner are discussed. Setting Genitourinary Medicine clinic. Methods Polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic DNA from oral and genital lesions. HPV DNA typing by dot blot hybridization. Results HPV DNA types 6 and 11 were identified in a polypoid tongue lesion and in a penile wart from the male sexual partner. Conclusions The acquisition of oral HPV infection in the male sexual partner may have resulted from genital-oral HPV transfer, either by direct contact with vulvar warts or by digital self-inoculation.     

Breast-feeding the smallest consumer.

Breast-feeding has numerous advantages, yet the trend to breast-feed is declining. Nurses, as well as patients, can benefit from increasing their knowledge base about breast-feeding. Nurses have an important role to play in supporting breast-feeding mothers with current research-based knowledge. More importantly, nurses also serve as patient advocates for the neonate. The use of appropriate nursing diagnoses may facilitate an optimal breast-feeding experience for our smallest consumer, the neonate.     

Influence of posture on hepatic perfusion and the presystemic biotransformation of propranolol: simulation of the food effect

Several research groups have reported that the oral administration of propranolol with protein-rich food leads to a marked increase (mean + 60%) in the area under the drug plasma concentration-time curve (AUC oral) of this highly metabolized and well-absorbed drug. It has been postulated that this "food effect" is caused at least in part by a transient increase in hepatic blood flow (QH) with its associated decrease in first-pass metabolism (hepatic extraction is a monotonic decreasing function of QH). A randomized crossover study using postural manipulations to produce changes in QH of the magnitude observed after food consumption (20% to 50%) was performed in an attempt to isolate the contribution of transient changes in QH to the food effect phenomenon. A solution of 80 mg propranolol HCl was taken orally and subjects were randomly assigned to postural manipulation protocols that should change QH such that AUC oral would be minimized (phase 1) or maximized (phase 2). Estimated QH (indocyanine green total body clearance from blood) was determined before and at three time points during each phase. It was observed that indocyanine green total body clearance during periods of standing was 15% to 40% below that observed during periods of seating (significant at p less than 0.05 for many of the appropriate comparisons). However, AUC oral for propranolol was not affected (mean +/- 1 SD; AUC phase 2/AUC phase 1+= 0.98 +/- 0.28) by these changes in QH, which are comparable to those encountered after food consumption.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Summary of the scientific literature for pain and anxiety control in dentistry journal literature,January 1986-December 1987

This bibliography contains both foreign (in brackets) and English language citations obtained from Index to Dental Literature, Index Medicus, and Psychological Abstracts for the period January 1986 to December 1987. Although a careful search of these indexes was performed, every relevant citation may not be included. Comments or suggestions regarding this bibliography are welcomed by the author.     

Microbicides 2006 conference

Current HIV/AIDS statistics show that women account for almost 60% of HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. HIV prevention tools such as male and female condoms, abstinence and monogamy are not always feasible options for women due to various socio-economic and cultural factors. Microbicides are products designed to be inserted in the vagina or rectum prior to sex to prevent HIV acquisition.     

Eyeblinking During Problem Solving: The Effect of Problem Difficulty and Internally vs Externally Directed Attention

This study examined the eyeblink rate during non-visual problem solving. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design compared eyeblink rates for easy and difficult problems, internally and externally directed attention, and numerical and alphabetical tasks. The major finding was a higher eyeblink rate for difficult problems. There was also a significant interaction between difficulty and the direction of attention; internally directed attention yielded higher blink rates only during the solution of easy problems. Range-corrected data yielded the same pattern of results, but F-values were consistently higher and accounted for a larger proportion of the variance.     

“Putting Meat on the Bones”: Understanding the Implementation of a Community-Based Early Intervention and Prevention Programme—Contextual,Person, and Programme Influences

Prevention Science - The adoption and effective delivery of evidence-based interventions within “real-world” community-based, primary health care service settings are of crucial...     

DNA immunization: mechanistic studies

DNA immunization works, as has been amply demonstrated in a variety of microbial and tumor models. However, the mechanisms which underpin its success remain unclear. Using intramuscular delivery of DNA, we wish to precisely define how DNA-encoded antigens induce CD8+ T-cells (most cytotoxic T-cells; CTL), CD4+ T-cells (mostly helper cells) and antibodies; and to use the accrued knowledge to rationally manipulate DNA vaccines, thus enabling us to optimize each of the above three types of immune response. We consider it likely that different mechanisms operate in each case. We have designed a DNA vaccine which induces CTL, but not antibodies. We will present evidence that CTL are induced by endogenously-synthesized protein, not by protein released from cells; and that in the absence of release of intact protein, antibodies are not induced, while CTL induction remains strong. We have used plasmid-encoded minigenes and have found that these short sequences also induce CTL; this, too, argues that CTL are induced by antigens presented following endogenous synthesis. We are attempting to determine how antigens are released from transfected cells, to interact with B-cells and induce antibodies, and are currently evaluating the CD4 responses induced by DNA vaccines.