Measuring fatigue in people living with HIV/AIDS: Psychometric characteristics of the HIV-Related Fatigue Scale

In the era of life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy, chronic fatigue is one of the most prevalent and disabling symptoms of people living with HIV/AIDS, yet its measurement remains challenging. No instruments have been developed specifically to describe HIV-related fatigue. We assessed the reliability and construct validity of the HIV-Related Fatigue Scale (HRFS), a 56-item self-report instrument developed through formative qualitative research and designed to measure the intensity and consequences of fatigue as well as the circumstances surrounding fatigue in people living with HIV. The HRFS has three main scales, which measure fatigue intensity, the responsiveness of fatigue to circumstances and fatigue-related impairment of functioning. The functioning scale can be further divided into subscales measuring impairment of activities of daily living, impairment of mental functioning and impairment of social functioning. Each scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.93, 0.91 and 0.97 for the intensity, responsiveness and functioning scales, respectively). The HRFS scales also demonstrated satisfactory convergent validity when compared to other fatigue measures. HIV-Related Fatigue Scales were moderately correlated with quality of nighttime sleep (rho=0.46, 0.47 and 0.35) but showed only weak correlations with daytime sleepiness (rho=0.20, 0.33 and 0.18). The scales were also moderately correlated with general mental and physical health as measured by the SF-36 Health Survey (rho ranged from 0.30 to 0.68 across the 8 SF-36 subscales with most >0.40). The HRFS is a promising tool to help facilitate research on the prevalence, etiology and consequences of fatigue in people living with HIV

Consumo, digestibilidade e balanço de nitrogênio em novilhos alimentados com cama de frango e suplemento à base de microbiota ruminal liofilizada Intake, digestibility and nitrogen balance of steers fed broiler litter and supplement based on lyophilized ruminal microbiota

Este experimento foi realizado para avaliar o efeito de dois níveis de cama de frango (15,0 e 30,0%), associada ou não a um suplemento à base de microbiota ruminal liofilizada de bovinos adultos (0 e 10 g/animal•dia), na alimentação de novilhos Holandês/Zebu. Quatro novilhos fistulados no rúmen e abomaso foram distribuídos em um quadrado latino 4 x 4 em arranjo fatorial e alimentados individualmente à vontade. O consumo e as digestibilidades totais e parciais dos nutrientes foram avaliados. Não houve efeito do nível de cama de frango sobre o consumo e os coeficientes de digestibilidade da matéria seca (MS), matéria orgânica (MO) e fibra em detergente neutro (FDN). O aumento do nível de cama de frango na dieta elevou o coeficiente de digestibilidade intestinal e total da proteína bruta (PB), porém, quando se adicionou o suplemento à dieta com 15,0% de cama de frango, a digestibilidade intestinal aumentou e àquela contendo 30,0% diminuiu. Quando se adicionou o suplemento à dieta com 15,0% de cama de frango, o coeficiente de digestibilidade total não sofreu efeito, mas diminuiu para a dieta com 30%. A ingestão diária de 10 g do suplemento, por animal, não alterou o consumo e os coeficientes de digestibilidade da MS, MO e FDN.<br>This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of two levels of broiler litter (15.0 and 30.0%), associated or not to a supplement based on bovine lyophilized ruminal microbiota (0 and 10 g/animal•day), in the Holstein Zebu steers feeding. Four steers with ruminal and abomasal fistulae were allotted to a 4 x 4 latin square in a factorial arrangement and individually fullfed. The intake and total and partial digestibilities were evaluated. There was no effect of broiler litter level on the intake and coefficients of digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). The increase of the level of broiler litter in the diet increased the total and intestinal crude protein (CP) digestibility coefficient, however, when the supplement was added to the diet containing 15.0% of broiler litter, the intestinal digestibility increased, and that of 30.0% decreased. When the supplement was added to the diet containing 15.0% broiler litter, the total digestibility coefficient did not show effect, but decreased for the diet with 30.0%. The daily intake of 10 g of supplement per animal did not affect the intake and the coefficient of digestibilities of DM, OM and NDF

Contagem de células somáticas em amostras de leite Somatic cell count in milk samples

Objetivou-se neste trabalho avaliar os fatores que influenciam a contagem de células somáticas (CCS) em amostras de leite de tanques e analisar a distribuição destas amostras nas classes de escore de células somáticas (ECS). Foram analisadas 257.540 amostras de leite de tanques, provenientes de 32.590 rebanhos de 18 indústrias de laticínios, localizadas nos Estados de Santa Catarina, Paraná e São Paulo, associadas ao Programa de Análise de Rebanhos Leiteiros do Paraná (PARLPR) da Associação Paranaense de Criadores de Bovinos da Raça Holandesa (APCBRH), no período de janeiro de 1999 a novembro de 2001. Empregou-se o procedimento PROC GLM, do SAS, para o estudo dos seguintes efeitos: micro-região, ano e mês de análise, idade da amostra e rebanho. A média e o desvio-padrão amostral para a CCS foram de 486.812 e 401.547 células/mL, respectivamente. Todos os efeitos incluídos no modelo foram significativos sobre a CCS. Houve grande variação da CCS entre as micro-regiões, sendo a maior e menor médias ajustadas para CCS de 602.000 e 242.000 células/mL, respectivamente. No ano de 2001, foi observada a maior média para a CCS (483.000 células/mL). A maior média de CCS foi observada no mês de janeiro (497.000 células/mL) e a menor no mês de setembro (442.000 células/mL). O efeito de idade da amostra mostrou redução da CCS até o quarto dia e, a partir do sétimo dia, as médias sofreram grandes variações. Das amostras analisadas, 64,6% apresentaram escore cinco ou maior.<br>The goal of this study was to evaluate somatic cell count (SCC) in bulk tank milk samples in the milk delivered to the industry by dairy farmers; also, to allot of the bulk tank milk samples in somatic cell score (SCS) class. Bulk tank milk samples are routinely analyzed at the central laboratory of the Programa de Análise de Rebanhos Leiteiros do Paraná (PARLPR) of the Holstein Association, state of Paraná, Brazil. The present study was on a data set of the PARLPR containing 257,540 bulk tank milk samples from 32,590 herds delivering milk to 18 dairy industries in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo, analyzed between January 1999 and November 2001. General Linear Models procedures were used to study the effects of micro region, year and month of the test, herd and age of the sample on SCC in bulk tank milk samples. Mean and standard deviation for SCC samples in bulk tank milk samples were 486,812 and 401,547 cells/mL, respectively. All factors had a highly significant effect on the SCC. Micro regions were highly variable on the SCC, from 602,000 to 242,000 cells/mL. The highest means were observed in 2001 (483,000 cells/mL). Highest SCC means were observed in January (497,000 cells/mL) and lowest in September (442,000 cells/mL). The effect of age of the sample showed reduction in SCC levels until day four; after day seven samples were highly variable. Sixty-four percent of all samples showed a SCS of five or more

A comparison of safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of Oka/Merck varicella vaccine and VARILRIX™ in healthy children

10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00245-1Vaccine2023-242942-2949VACC