1,041 research outputs found
A Qualitative Study on Pharmacy Policies toward Over-the-Counter Syringe Sales in a Rural Epicenter of US Drug-Related Epidemics
BACKGROUND: Expanding access to sterile syringes in rural areas is vital, as injection-related epidemics expand beyond metropolitan areas globally. While pharmacies have potential to be an easily accessible source of sterile syringes, research in cities has identified moral, legal and ethical barriers that preclude over-the-counter (OTC) sales to people who inject drugs (PWID). The current study builds on prior urban-based research by elucidating (1) pharmacy OTC policies and (2) pharmacists\u27 rationale for, and barriers and facilitators to, OTC syringe sales in a US rural area hard hit by drug-related epidemics.
METHODS: We conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with pharmacists recruited from two Eastern Kentucky health districts. Interview domains included experiences with, and attitudes toward, selling OTC syringes to PWID. Constructivist grounded theory methods were used to analyze verbatim transcripts.
RESULTS: Most pharmacists operated restrictive OTC pharmacies (n = 8), where patients were required to have a prescription or proof of medical need to purchase a syringe. The remainder (n = 6) operated open OTC pharmacies, which allowed OTC syringe sales to most patients. Both groups believed their pharmacy policies protected their community and pharmacy from further drug-related harm, but diverging policies emerged because of stigma toward PWID, perceptions of Kentucky law, and belief OTC syringe sales were harmful rather than protective to the community.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that restrictive OTC pharmacy policies are rooted in stigmatizing views of PWID. Anti-stigma education about substance use disorder (SUD), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Hepatitis C (HCV) is likely needed to truly shift restrictive pharmacy policy
The chemical evolution of Omega Centauri's progenitor system
Chemical evolution models are presented for the anomalous globular cluster
Omega Centauri. After demonstrating that the chemical features of Omega Cen can
not be reproduced in the framework of the closed-box self-enrichment scenario,
we discuss a model in which this cluster is the remnant of a dwarf spheroidal
galaxy evolved in isolation and then swallowed by the Milky Way. Both infall of
primordial matter and metal-enriched gas outflows have to be considered in
order to reproduce the stellar metallicity distribution function, the
age-metallicity relation and several abundance ratios. Yet, as long as an
ordinary stellar mass function and standard stellar yields are assumed, we fail
by far to get the enormous helium enhancement required to explain the blue main
sequence (and, perhaps, the extreme horizontal branch) stellar data. Rotating
models of massive stars producing stellar winds with large helium excesses at
low metallicities have been put forward as promising candidates to solve the
`helium enigma' of Omega Cen (Maeder & Meynet, 2006, A&A, 448, L37). However,
we show that for any reasonable choice of the initial mass function the
helium-to-metal enrichment of the integrated stellar population is unavoidably
much lower than 70 and conclude that the issue of the helium enhancement in
Omega Cen still waits for a satisfactory explanation. We briefly speculate upon
possible solutions.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in MNRA
Prevalent presence of periodic actin-spectrin-based membrane skeleton in a broad range of neuronal cell types and animal species
Actin, spectrin, and associated molecules form a periodic, submembrane cytoskeleton in the axons of neurons. For a better understanding of this membrane-associated periodic skeleton (MPS), it is important to address how prevalent this structure is in different neuronal types, different subcellular compartments, and across different animal species. Here, we investigated the organization of spectrin in a variety of neuronal- and glial-cell types. We observed the presence of MPS in all of the tested neuronal types cultured from mouse central and peripheral nervous systems, including excitatory and inhibitory neurons from several brain regions, as well as sensory and motor neurons. Quantitative analyses show that MPS is preferentially formed in axons in all neuronal types tested here: Spectrin shows a long-range, periodic distribution throughout all axons but appears periodic only in a small fraction of dendrites, typically in the form of isolated patches in subregions of these dendrites. As in dendrites, we also observed patches of periodic spectrin structures in a small fraction of glial-cell processes in four types of glial cells cultured from rodent tissues. Interestingly, despite its strong presence in the axonal shaft, MPS is disrupted in most presynaptic boutons but is present in an appreciable fraction of dendritic spine necks, including some projecting from dendrites where such a periodic structure is not observed in the shaft. Finally, we found that spectrin is capable of adopting a similar periodic organization in neurons of a variety of animal species, including Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, Gallus gallus, Mus musculus, and Homo sapiens
Measurement of the Lifetime Difference Between B_s Mass Eigenstates
We present measurements of the lifetimes and polarization amplitudes for B_s
--> J/psi phi and B_d --> J/psi K*0 decays. Lifetimes of the heavy (H) and
light (L) mass eigenstates in the B_s system are separately measured for the
first time by determining the relative contributions of amplitudes with
definite CP as a function of the decay time. Using 203 +/- 15 B_s decays, we
obtain tau_L = (1.05 +{0.16}/-{0.13} +/- 0.02) ps and tau_H = (2.07
+{0.58}/-{0.46} +/- 0.03) ps. Expressed in terms of the difference DeltaGamma_s
and average Gamma_s, of the decay rates of the two eigenstates, the results are
DeltaGamma_s/Gamma_s = (65 +{25}/-{33} +/- 1)%, and DeltaGamma_s = (0.47
+{0.19}/-{0.24} +/- 0.01) inverse ps.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables; as published in Physical Review Letters
on 16 March 2005; revisions are for length and typesetting only, no changes
in results or conclusion
Prevalence of HIV, Herpes Simplex Virus-2, and Syphilis in male sex partners of pregnant women in Peru
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background:</p> <p>Sexually active heterosexual men may represent an important risk factor for HIV infection and STI transmission to their female partners and unborn children, though little is known about the prevalence of STIs in this population. We sought to determine the prevalence of HIV, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and syphilis infection and associated risk behaviors among male sex partners of pregnant women in Peru.</p> <p>Methods:</p> <p>Survey and seroprevalence data were collected from 1,835 male partners of pregnant women in four cities in Peru. Serum was tested for antibodies to HIV, HSV-2, and syphilis.</p> <p>Results:</p> <p>Among the 1,835 male participants, HIV prevalence was 0.8% (95% CI = 0.5–1.4%), HSV-2 16.0% (95% CI = 14.3–17.8%), and syphilis 1.6% (95% CI = 1.0–2.2%). Additionally, 11.0% reported a lifetime history of intercourse with men, and 37.1% with female sex workers. Unprotected intercourse with men during the previous year was reported by 0.9% and with female sex workers by 1.2%.</p> <p>Conclusion:</p> <p>Pregnant women's sex partners reported lifetime sexual contact with core risk groups, had an elevated prevalence of HSV-2, and demonstrated the potential to spread HIV and other STIs to their partners. Though the prevalence of HIV in the population was not significantly higher than observed in other samples of heterosexuals in Peru, the risk of HIV transmission to their female partners may be exacerbated by their increased prevalence of HSV-2 infection. Further study of heterosexual populations is necessary to fully understand the epidemiology of HIV/STIs in Latin America.</p
Household water treatment uptake during a public health response to a large Typhoid Fever outbreak in Harare, Zimbabwe
Locally manufactured sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) solution has been sold in Zimbabwe since 2010.
During October 1, 2011–April 30, 2012, 4,181 suspected and 52 confirmed cases of typhoid fever were identified in
Harare. In response to this outbreak, chlorine tablets were distributed. To evaluate household water treatment uptake,
we conducted a survey and water quality testing in 458 randomly selected households in two suburbs most affected by the
outbreak. Although 75% of households were aware of chlorine solution and 85% received chlorine tablets, only 18% had
reportedly treated stored water and had the recommended protective level of free chlorine residuals. Water treatment
was more common among households that reported water treatment before the outbreak, and those that received free
tablets during the outbreak (P < 0.01), but was not associated with chlorine solution awareness or use before the outbreak
(P > 0.05). Outbreak response did not build on pre-existing prevention programs.The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Global Disease
Detection and Emergency Response, the U.S. Agency for International
Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance,
the United Nations Children’s Fund-Zimbabwe, Welthungerhilfe-
Zimbabwe, and Population Services International-Zimbabwe.http://www.ajtmh.orgam201
A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity
Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe
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