431 research outputs found

    Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning

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    A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including a planning tool (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market) and a two-volume handbook (in addition to this one, Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

    Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market—Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market

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    A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including a planning tool (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market) and a two-volume handbook (in addition to this one, Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market. Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

    Membrane testosterone binding sites in prostate carcinoma as a potential new marker and therapeutic target: Study in paraffin tissue sections

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    BACKGROUND: Steroid action is mediated, in addition to classical intracellular receptors, by recently identified membrane sites, that generate rapid non-genomic effects. We have recently identified a membrane androgen receptor site on prostate carcinoma cells, mediating testosterone rapid effects on the cytoskeleton and secretion within minutes. METHODS: The aim of this study was to investigate whether membrane androgen receptors are differentially expressed in prostate carcinomas, and their relationship to the tumor grade. We examined the expression of membrane androgen receptors in archival material of 109 prostate carcinomas and 103 benign prostate hyperplasias, using fluorescein-labeled BSA-coupled testosterone. RESULTS: We report that membrane androgen receptors are preferentially expressed in prostate carcinomas, and they correlate to their grade using the Gleason's microscopic grading score system. CONCLUSION: We conclude that membrane androgen receptors may represent an index of tumor aggressiveness and possibly specific targets for new therapeutic regimens

    Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 2: In-depth Analyses of the Family Planning Market

    Get PDF
    A “total market approach” (TMA) to family planning promotes access to family planning for individuals and couples through coordination and collaboration among government health care services, nonprofit health care services, and the business/commercial sector for family planning products. While many countries are interested in the TMA approach to family planning policies and strategies, it’s difficult to know what steps to take first to inform plans and programs. MEASURE Evaluation, in collaboration with the Evidence Project (both funded by USAID), has developed several resources, including this planning tool and a two-volume handbook (Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market. Volume 1: Using Data to Inform a Total Market Approach to Family Planning and Handbook for Research on the Family Planning Market Volume 2: Tool and Resources for an In-depth Analysis of the Family Planning Market), to standardize a best-practice guide for countries to assess their particular need and readiness for TMA. These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes a Landscape Assessment (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning—Module 1: Landscape Assessment) and Toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary) produced by PATH, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs)

    Dendritic Synapse Location and Neocortical Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity

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    While it has been appreciated for decades that synapse location in the dendritic tree has a powerful influence on signal processing in neurons, the role of dendritic synapse location on the induction of long-term synaptic plasticity has only recently been explored. Here, we review recent work revealing how learning rules for spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) in cortical neurons vary with the spatial location of synaptic input. A common principle appears to be that proximal synapses show conventional STDP, whereas distal inputs undergo plasticity according to novel learning rules. One crucial factor determining location-dependent STDP is the backpropagating action potential, which tends to decrease in amplitude and increase in width as it propagates into the dendritic tree of cortical neurons. We discuss additional location-dependent mechanisms as well as the functional implications of heterogeneous learning rules at different dendritic locations for the organization of synaptic inputs

    Genes in the postgenomic era

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    We outline three very different concepts of the gene - 'instrumental', 'nominal', and 'postgenomic'. The instrumental gene has a critical role in the construction and interpretation of experiments in which the relationship between genotype and phenotype is explored via hybridization between organisms or directly between nucleic acid molecules. It also plays an important theoretical role in the foundations of disciplines such as quantitative genetics and population genetics. The nominal gene is a critical practical tool, allowing stable communication between bioscientists in a wide range of fields grounded in well-defined sequences of nucleotides, but this concept does not embody major theoretical insights into genome structure or function. The post-genomic gene embodies the continuing project of understanding how genome structure supports genome function, but with a deflationary picture of the gene as a structural unit. This final concept of the gene poses a significant challenge to conventional assumptions about the relationship between genome structure and function, and between genotype and phenotype

    Is there evidence for accelerated polyethylene wear in uncemented compared to cemented acetabular components? A systematic review of the literature

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    Joint arthroplasty registries show an increased rate of aseptic loosening in uncemented acetabular components as compared to cemented acetabular components. Since loosening is associated with particulate wear debris, we postulated that uncemented acetabular components demonstrate a higher polyethylene wear rate than cemented acetabular components in total hip arthroplasty. We performed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature, comparing the wear rate in uncemented and cemented acetabular components in total hip arthroplasty. Studies were identified using MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Study quality was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The search resulted in 425 papers. After excluding duplicates and selection based on title and abstracts, nine studies were found eligible for further analysis: two randomised controlled trials, and seven observational studies. One randomised controlled trial found a higher polyethylene wear rate in uncemented acetabular components, while the other found no differences. Three out of seven observational studies showed a higher polyethylene wear in uncemented acetabular component fixation; the other four studies did not show any differences in wear rates. The available evidence suggests that a higher annual wear rate may be encountered in uncemented acetabular components as compared to cemented components

    Indoor Air in Beauty Salons and Occupational Health Exposure of Cosmetologists to Chemical Substances

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    The indoor environment in four beauty salons located in Athens (Greece) was examined in order to investigate the occupational health exposure of cosmetologists to various chemical products typically used in their work. Chemical substances chosen for investigation were volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, ozone and carbon dioxide. Total VOCs levels measured showed significant variation (100–1,450 ÎŒg m−3) depending on the products used and the number of treatments carried out, as well as ventilation. The main VOCs found in the salons were aromatics (toluene, xylene), esters and ketones (ethyl acetate, acetone, etc.) which are used as solvents in various beauty products; terpenes (pinene, limonene, camphor, menthenol) which have a particular odor and others like camphor which have specific properties. Ozone concentrations measured in all salons were quite low (0.1 and 13.3 ÎŒg m−3) and formaldehyde concentrations detected were lower than the detection limit of the method in all salons (<0.05 ppm). Carbon dioxide levels ranged between 402 and 1,268 ppm, depending on the number of people present in the salons during measurements and ventilation. Cosmetologists may be exposed to high concentrations of a mixture of volatile organic compounds although these levels could be decreased significantly by following certain practices such as good ventilation of the areas, closing the packages of the beauty products when not in use and finally selecting safer beauty products without strong odor

    Suppression of Implanted MDA-MB 231 Human Breast Cancer Growth in Nude Mice by Dietary Walnut

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    Walnuts contain components that may slow cancer growth including omega 3 fatty acids, phytosterols, polyphenols, carotenoids, and melatonin. A pilot study was performed to determine whether consumption of walnuts could affect growth of MDA-MB 231 human breast cancers implanted into nude mice. Tumor cells were injected into nude mice that were consuming an AIN-76A diet slightly modified to contain 10% corn oil. After the tumors reached 3 to 5 mm diameter, the diet of one group of mice was changed to include ground walnuts, equivalent to 56 g (2 oz) per day in humans. The tumor growth rate from Day 10, when tumor sizes began to diverge, until the end of the study of the group that consumed walnuts (2.9 ± 1.1 mm3/day; mean ± standard error of the mean) was significantly less (P \u3e 0.05, t-test of the growth rates) than that of the group that did not consume walnuts (14.6 ± 1.3 mm 3 /day). The eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid fractions of the livers of the group that consumed walnuts were significantly higher than that of the group that did not consume walnuts. Tumor cell proliferation was decreased, but apoptosis was not altered due to walnut consumption. Further work is merited to investigate applications to cancer in humans

    Aspects of bovine herpesvirus-1 infection in dairy and beef herds in the Republic of Ireland

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infection with bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) causes a wide range of disease manifestations, including respiratory disease and abortion, with world-wide distribution. The primary objective of the present study was to describe aspects of BHV-1 infection and control on Irish farms, including herd-level seroprevalence (based on pooled sera) and vaccine usage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The characteristics of a diagnostic indirect BHV-1 antibody ELISA test when used on serum pools were evaluated using laboratory replicates for use in the seroprevalence study. The output from this indirect ELISA was expressed as a percentage positivity (PP) value. A proposed cut off (PCO) PP was applied in a cross-sectional study of a stratified random sample of 1,175 Irish dairy and beef cattle herds in 2009, using serum pools, to estimate herd seroprevalence. The study was observational, based primarily on the analysis of existing samples, and only aggregated results were reported. For these reasons, ethical approval was not required. Bulk milk samples from a subset of 111 dairy herds were analysed using the same ELISA. Information regarding vaccine usage was determined in a telephone survey.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A PCO PP of 7.88% was determined to give 97.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity relative to the use of the ELISA on individual sera giving maximization of the prevalence independent Youden's index, on receiver operating characteristics analysis of replicate results. The herd-level BHV-1 seroprevalence was 74.9% (95% CI - 69.9%-79.8%), with no significant difference between dairy and beef herds. 95.5% agreement in herd classification was found between bulk milk and serum pools. Only 1.8 percent of farmers used BHV-1 marker vaccine, 80% of which was live while 75% of vaccinated herds were dairy.</p> <p>A significant association was found between herd size (quartiles) and seroprevalence (quartiles).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results from this study indicate BHV-1 infection is endemic, although BHV-1 vaccines are rarely used, in the cattle population in Ireland.</p
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