Investigating a Sexual Network of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications for Transmission and Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States

HIV infections increased 48% among young, Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States between 2006–2009. Incomplete understanding of this trend undermines prevention strategy development. We investigated a sexual network to characterize the risk environment in which young, Black MSM acquire HIV

Peter S. Beagle: Conversation about "The Last Unicorn" and Other Writings

This record contains recordings of an interview with Peter Beagle and Travis Ashmore. The recordings are being made available in both .mp3 and .aiff formats. A transcript file is included

A new benzotriazole-mediated stereoflexible gateway to hetero-2,5-diketopiperazines

Open chain Cbz-L-aa1-L-Pro-Bt (Bt=benzotriazole) sequences were converted into either the corresponding trans- or cis-fused 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) depending on the reaction conditions. Thermodynamic tandem cyclization/epimerization afforded selectively the corresponding trans-DKPs (6975?%). Complementarily, tandem deprotection/cyclization led to the cis-DKPs (6572?%). A representative set of proline-containing cis- and trans-DKPs has been prepared. A mechanistic investigation, based on chiral HPLC, kinetics, and computational studies enabled a rationalization of the results

Pre-emptive replacement of water treatment components improves responsiveness to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in maintenance haemodialysis patients:a quality improvement report

Hypo-responsiveness to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) has been associated with increased mortality. We examined the effect of water treatment component replacement on declining ESA responsiveness in the absence of chemical or microbiological standards failure. Pre-emptive renewal of the water treatment system supplying 802 standard-flux haemodialysis patients resulted in a significant rise in haemoglobin from (mean ± SD) 12.1 ± 1.2 to 12.3 ± 1.0 g/dl (p &lt; 0.0001), accompanied by a significant decrease in prescribed dose of darbepoetin alfa from 47.9 ± 27.3 to 44.7 ± 27.6 μg/week (p &lt; 0.0001). ESA responsiveness improved significantly from 0.060 ± 0.041 to 0.055 ± 0.040 μg/kg/g&lt;b&gt;·&lt;/b&gt;dl&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; (p &lt; 0.0001) and the number of patients no longer requiring ESA therapy increased threefold. These benefits were derived in the absence of haemolysis or significant changes in water quality. Renewal of water system components should be conducted even in the absence of proven microbiological and chemical failure.</jats:p

Analiza konkurenčnosti v farmacevtski panogi: primer podjetja Alkaloid in konkurentov

Benzotriazole surrogates showing higher stabilities than the corresponding chlorophosphates, allow phosphonylation of a variety of N-, O-, and S-nucleophiles in good yields

Self-expanding foam for prehospital treatment of severe intra-abdominal hemorrhage: dose finding study

Noncompressible abdominal bleeding is a significant cause of preventable death on the battlefield and in the civilian trauma environment, with no effective therapies available at point of injury. We previously described the development of a percutaneously administered, self-expanding, poly(urea)urethane foam that improved survival in a lethal Grade V hepatic and portal vein injury model in swine. In this study, we hypothesized that survival with foam treatment is dose dependent. A high-grade hepatoportal injury was created in a closed abdominal cavity, resulting in massive noncompressible hemorrhage. After injury, the animals were divided into five groups. The control group (n = 12) was treated only with fluid resuscitation, and four polymer groups received different dose volumes (Group 1, n = 6, 64 mL; Group 2, n = 6, 85 mL; Group 3, n = 18, 100 mL; and Group 4, n = 10, 120 mL) in addition to fluids. Ten minutes after injury, the foam was percutaneously administered, and animals were monitored for 3 hours. Survival with hepatoportal injury was highest in Group 4 (90%) and decreased in a dose-dependent fashion (Group 3, 72%; Group 2, 33%; Group 1, 17%). All polymer groups survived significantly longer than the controls (8.3%). Hemorrhage rate was reduced in all groups but lowest in Group 4 versus the control group (0.34 [0.052] vs. 3.0 [1.3] mL/kg/min, p < 0.001). Increasing foam dose volume was associated with increased peak intra-abdominal pressure (88.2 [38.9] in Group 4 vs. 9.5 [3.2] in the controls, p < 0.0001) and increased incidence of focal bowel injuries. The self-expanding foam significantly improves survival in a dose-dependent fashion in an otherwise lethal injury. Higher doses are associated with better survival but resulted in the need for bowel resection

Self-expanding foam for prehospital treatment of intra-abdominal hemorrhage: 28-day survival and safety

Intracavitary noncompressible hemorrhage remains a significant cause of preventable death on the battlefield and in the homeland. We previously demonstrated the hemostatic efficacy of an in situ self-expanding poly(urea)urethane foam in a severe, closed-cavity, hepatoportal exsanguination model in swine. We hypothesized that treatment with, and subsequent explantation of, foam would not adversely impact 28-day survival in swine. Following a closed-cavity splenic transection, animals received either fluid resuscitation alone (control group, n = 6) or resuscitation plus foam treatment at doses of 100 mL (n = 6), 120 mL (n = 6), and 150 mL (n = 2). Foam was allowed to polymerize in situ and was explanted after 3 hours. The animals were recovered and monitored for 28 days. All 18 animals in the 100-mL, 120-mL, and control groups survived to the 28-day endpoint without complications. The 150-mL group was terminated after the acute phase (n = 2). En bloc explantation of the foam took less than 2 minutes and was associated with millimeter-sized remnant particles. All foam animals required some level of enteric repair (imbrication or resection). Excluding the aborted 150-mL group, all animals survived, with no differences in renal or hepatic function, serum chemistries, or semiquantitative abdominal adhesion scores. Histologic analysis demonstrated that remnant particles were associated with a fibrotic capsule and mild inflammation, similar to that of standard suture reaction. In addition, safety testing (including genotoxicity, pyrogenicity, and cytotoxicity) was performed consistent with the ISO-10993 standard, and the materials passed all tests. For a distinct dose range, 28-day recovery after foam treatment and explantation for noncompressible, intra-abdominal hemorrhage is not associated with significant physiologic or biochemical evidence of end-organ dysfunction. A foam volume exceeding the maximum tolerable dose was identified. Bowel repair is required to ensure survival