Electronic Health (e-health) Literacy among Undergraduate University Students

E-health literacy refers to the knowledge of electronic resources and searching techniques that are required to obtain credible health information. E-health literacy can help the general population to search, acquire, appraise, use and interpret health-related information from electronic sources, as well as to be able to apply the gained information to address and solve health-related problems. A large scale cross-sectional survey was conducted to appraise the e-health literacy skills among undergraduate psychology students. The population of the study comprised of undergraduate psychology students enrolled in the public sector universities. A questionnaire was developed by conducting a thorough review of the relevant literature on e-health literacy and assessing the electronic health information seeking behaviour in the participating universities. The collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-23) and presented in descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study concluded that majority of the respondents had moderate level of e-health literacy skills. The study recommended that the information professionals in the participating universities should play their effective role in promoting the e-health literacy among undergraduate psychology students through offering a structured program, having 02 credit hours, on e-health literacy skills

Salvia fruticosa Induces Vasorelaxation in Rat Isolated Thoracic Aorta: Role of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO/cGMP Signaling Pathway

Salvia fruticosa (SF) Mill. is traditionally used for its antihypertensive actions. However, little is known about its pharmacologic and molecular mechanisms of action. Here we determined the effects of an ethanolic extract of SF leaves on rings of isolated thoracic aorta from Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results show that SF extract increased nitric oxide production and relaxed endothelium-intact rings in a dose-dependent (0.3 µg/ml–1 mg/ml) manner, and the maximum arterial relaxation (Rmax) was significantly reduced with endothelium denudation. Pretreatment of endothelium-intact rings with L-NAME (a non-selective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, 100 µM), or ODQ (an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, 10 µM) significantly diminished SF-mediated vasorelaxation. Furthermore, SF induced Akt phosphorylation as well as increased cGMP levels in rings treated with increasing doses of SF. Prior exposure to PI3K inhibitors, wortmannin (0.1 µM) or LY294002 (10 µM), decreased cGMP accumulation and attenuated the SF-induced vasorelaxation by approximately 50% (Rmax). SF-evoked relaxation was not affected by indomethacin, verapamil, glibenclamide, tetraethylammonium, pyrilamine or atropine. Taken together, our results indicate that SF induces endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation through the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO/sGC/cGMP signaling pathway. Our data illustrate the health-orientated benefits of consuming SF which may act as an antihypertensive agent to reduce the burden of cardiovascular complications.Scopu

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection among transgender men in Rawalpindi (Pakistan)

Abstract Background Transgender males are at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS caused by the notorious Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), yet little consideration is given by the policy makers, researchers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) towards this sensitive issue in Pakistan. Methods In this study, we have investigated the prevalence of HIV infection among 306 transgender males with a median age of 29 years (range 15–64 years) residing in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Rapid HIV antibody-screening methods including the strip test and Enzyme Linked Immuno-absorbent tests were employed to detect HIV antibodies among the subjects. For further confirmation, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was carried out. Statistical analytical techniques utilized included logistic regression and chi-square. Results HIV-1 was found to be the predominant viral subtype. PCR confirmed 21.6% (Confidence Interval 0.17-0.26) of the respondents were reported being HIV positive. 15.7% of the transgender men who shave at home and 13.7% of the transgender men who were educated below 5th grade were found to have HIV. Conclusion This study shows a very high prevalence of HIV among transgender males. Unawareness among these individuals about the ramifications of this infection owes largely to lack of education. The spread rate is alarming and HIV epidemic is imminent if awareness is not widespread.</p

Over expression of a synthetic gene encoding interferon lambda using relative synonymous codon usage bias in Escherichia coli

Interferon Lambda (IFN-λ) is a type III interferon which belongs to a novel family of cytokines and possesses antiviral and antitumor properties. It is unique in its own class of cytokines; because of the specificity towards its heterodimer receptors and its structural similarities with cytokines of other classes. This renders IFN-λ a better choice for the treatment against many diseases including viral hepatitis and human coronavirus (HCoV-EMC). The present study describes a computational approach known as relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU); used to enhance the expression of IFN-λ protein in a eukaryotic expression system. Manually designed and commercially synthesized IFN-λ gene was cloned into pET-22b expression plasmid under the control of inducible T7-lac promoter. Maximum levels of IFN-λ expression was observed with 0.4 mM IPTG in transformed E. coli incubated for 4 hours in LB medium. Higher concentrations of IPTG had no or negative effect on the expression of IFN-λ. This synthetically over expressed IFN-λ can be tested as a targeted treatment option for viral hepatitis after purification

Prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C Virus infections among male to female (MFT) transgenders in Rawalpindi (Pakistan)

Background: Transgenders are the individuals, who due to certain psychological or physical requirement mismatch with their naturally received genders. Among transgender types, male to female (MTF) transgenders are highly prevalent in Indo-Pak and are feared to be at high risk for sexually transmitted viral (human immunodeficiency virus HIV, hepatitis B virus HBV, hepatitis C virus HCV and Epstein Barr virus EBV) and bacterial diseases (gonorrhea, syphilis, campylobacter, chancroid, shigella, granuloma inguinale and chlamydia). This sensitive issue, therefore, requires more attention of researchers, policy-makers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan. Methods: Prevalence of HCV and HBV infection was studied in 306 transgender males with a median age of 29 years (range 15-64years) living in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Molecular techniques such as ELISA and Nested PCR were performed to confirm the presence of the both viruses in each sample of subjects. Furthermore, logistic regression and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results: This study showed that occurrence of HCV infection was predominant among the studied group; whereas presence of HBV was insignificant and was not included for statistical analysis. PCR confirmed that 25.5% of the test group was HCV positive, with the highest percentage (83.33 %) of HCV positive among the individuals who claimed safe sex practices and had knowledge about the medical condition of their partners. 34.61% of the transgender men who shave outside their homes, were found to be HCV positive. Conclusion: In light of these statistics, ignoring this threat could be dangerous not only for the transgender community but also for the society, in general