What is the Role of Non-Pharmacotherapy in the Treatment of Depression with Cardiovascular Disease?

Depression and cardiovascular disease are two of the leading causes of disability and death in the U.S. and worldwide, respectively. Both health disparities are frequently managed and treated with conventional medicine using drugs that may increase the pain and suffering of patients due to unwanted side-effects, thereby likely prompting patient nonadherence to physician guidance and pharmaceutical interventions. This study aims to determine the effects of various non-pharmaceutical therapies including psychotherapy, exercise therapy, meditation, and acupuncture with musical therapy, and their influence on depression and cardiovascular disease. The main question in this review asks: do non-pharmaceutical therapies have positive effects on depression and cardiovascular disease? The results indicate that several non-pharmaceutical interventions do have positive effects on depression and cardiovascular disease, and can even be as effective as antidepressants for the treatment of depression, when used alone or in combination with conventional medical practices. While the current research on non-pharmaceutical therapy for depression and cardiovascular disease is promising, additional studies are needed to gain a complete understanding of this influence. The intent of this review was also to encourage the health care community to implement a multidisciplinary and integrative approach to treating depression and heart disease, which are frequently comorbid and bidirectional, where the alleviation of one condition should prompt the recovery from the other

Pawnshops: the consumer's lender of last resort

Pawnbroking ; Consumer credit

Antibody 10-1074 suppresses viremia in HIV-1-infected individuals

Monoclonal antibody 10-1074 targets the V3 glycan supersite on the HIV-1 envelope (Env) protein. It is among the most potent anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies isolated so far. Here we report on its safety and activity in 33 individuals who received a single intravenous infusion of the antibody. 10-1074 was well tolerated and had a half-life of 24.0 d in participants without HIV-1 infection and 12.8 d in individuals with HIV-1 infection. Thirteen individuals with viremia received the highest dose of 30 mg/kg 10-1074. Eleven of these participants were 10-1074-sensitive and showed a rapid decline in viremia by a mean of 1.52 log_(10) copies/ml. Virologic analysis revealed the emergence of multiple independent 10-1074-resistant viruses in the first weeks after infusion. Emerging escape variants were generally resistant to the related V3-specific antibody PGT121, but remained sensitive to antibodies targeting nonoverlapping epitopes, such as the anti-CD4-binding-site antibodies 3BNC117 and VRC01. The results demonstrate the safety and activity of 10-1074 in humans and support the idea that antibodies targeting the V3 glycan supersite might be useful for the treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection

Recovery of Waste Thermal Energy in U.S. Residential Appliances

With the United States being the world’s second largest consumer of primary energy, research into areas of significant consumption can provide large impacts in terms of the global energy consumption. Buildings account for 41% of US total energy consumption with the residential sector making up a majority. Household appliances account for the second largest site energy consumption at 27%, after the HVAC system for the U.S. residential sector. By quantifying the expected energy available in the waste stream for five major appliances; household refrigerator, clothes dryer and washer, dishwasher, and cooking oven, a potential energy source is presented. A cold water cooling stream is applied to the waste stream of each appliance and an estimated amount of energy can be recovered. The household refrigerator is modeled having an increase in cooling capacity of about 12% and a reduction on compressor power consumption of about 26%. A sample operation of the clothes dryer has the exhaust air stream being cooled down to 30.5°C (86.9°F) or on the other side, is able to heat 19 liter (5 gal) of water up to about 54.5°C (130.1°F). Large volumes of water are available by the clothes washer, but due to typical operation characteristics, low wash and rinse temperatures, the waste stream was not high in temperature. While the dishwasher provided higher heat source temperatures, 40°C (104°F), than the clothes washer, 36°C (97°F), the opposite was true. The volume of waste water drained is very low compared to the clothes washer 11.7 liter (3.1 gal) to 155 liter (41 gal). Thus water temperatures in the storage tank did not reach above 30°C (86°F) even with low storage volumes. The cooking oven can generate very high water temperatures depending how small of a storage tank is connected. Further work in this area is recommended due to the potential of high water temperatures generated from residential waste energy streams not currently being captured, and thus can offset some site-energy usage