Psychosocial and physiologic correlates of perceived health among HIV-infected women

The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to perception of physical health in a cohort of HIV-infected women. A descriptive correlational design was used to identify factors influencing perceived physical health in a sample of 275 HIV-infected women in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Participants were predominantly single African-American women with household incomes of less than $10,000 per year. Using Spearman’s rho, statistically significant positive correlations (p \u3c .05) were found between perceived physical health and T helper cell count, hope, present life satisfaction, education, and income. Statistically significant positive correlations (p \u3c.05) were observed between perceived physical health and three HIV-specific active coping styles (managing the illness, focusing on others, and positive thinking). Inverse relationships were observed between perceived physical health and HIVrelated symptoms, stage of illness, depression, physical and sexual violence experienced since becoming HIV-infected, history of drug use since becoming HIV-infected, and age. Using backward stepwise selection, 9 of 14 variables were retained in the final model that explained 60% of the variance in physical health at the p \u3c .10 level of significance (R2 = .60). Variables that demonstrated a significant relationship with perceived physical health were HIV-related symptoms, depression, present life satisfaction, age, education, coping by managing the illness, coping through positive thinking, and coping by focusing on the present. These findings support the need to address the psychosocial as well as the physiologic factors associated with HIV/AIDS in developing comprehensive plans of nursing care

Incidence and correlates of violence among HIV-infected women at risk for pregnancy in the southeastern United States

To identify the incidence and correlates of physical and sexual violence among HIV-infected women at risk for pregnancy, a cross-sectional examination was conducted within a longitudinal study of reproductive decision making. Participants consisted of 275 HIVinfected women 17 to 49 years of age (mean = 30.1 years).Women were predominantly African American (87%) and single (82%), with annual incomes of $10,000 or less (66%). Overall, 68% of the women reported experiencing lifetime physical and/or sexual violence. Before becoming HIV infected, 65% of the women reported having been physically or sexually abused. After HIV diagnosis, 33% of the women reported experiencing physical or sexual abuse. Women reporting greater violence were more likely to disclose their HIV-seropositive status to their sex partner. Using logistic regression, greater intent to get pregnant (odds ratio [OR] = 0.933), decreased present life satisfaction (OR = 1.048), having three or more children (OR = 0.474), and history of drug use (OR = 0.794) significantly distinguished between women who reported physical and/or sexual violence and those who did not

Alterations in AMP deaminas activity and kinetics in skeletal muscle of creatine kinase-deficient mice

Item does not contain fulltext6 p

The location of silver dopants in lead halide single crystals

Lead(II) bromide and chloride have been purified by zone refinement and these purified products are grown into large device quality single crystals by the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. Cracking on cooling is observed especially in the case of lead bromide. To alleviate this problem, doping with silver bromide at the level of 0.05-0.5 mol% is shown to eliminate cracking. The role of the dopant is unclear, but is presumably associated with the location of the ion within the host lattice. Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) analysis was performed at Daresbury Laboratories to determine this role and it was found to be a simple substitution into the crystal lattice