Age and sharing of needle injection equipment in a cohort of Massachusetts injection drug users: an observational study

Background: Hepatitis C infection (HCV) among individuals aged 15–24 years has increased in Massachusetts, likely due to injection drug use. The prevalence of injection equipment sharing (sharing) and its association with age was examined in a cohort of out-of-treatment Massachusetts substance users. Methods: This analysis included baseline data from a behavioral intervention with substance users. Younger and older (<25 versus ≥25 years) injection drug users were compared on demographic characteristics, substance use practices, including factors present during the most recent sharing event (“event-level factors”), and HCV testing history. Results: Sharing was reported by 41% of the 484 individuals who reported injection drug use in the past 30 days. Prevalence of sharing varied by age (50% <25 years old versus 38% ≥25 years, p = 0.02). In a multivariable logistic regression model younger versus older individuals had twice the odds of sharing (95% CI = 1.26, 3.19). During their most recent sharing event, fewer younger individuals than older had their own drugs available (50% versus 75%, p < 0.001); other injection event-level factors did not vary by age. In the presence of PTSD, history of exchanging sex for money, or not being US born, prevalence of sharing by older users was higher and was similar to that of younger users, such that there was no association between age and sharing. Conclusions: In this cohort of injection drug users, younger age was associated with higher prevalence of sharing, but only in the absence of certain stressors. Harm reduction efforts might benefit from intervening on mental health and other stressors in addition to substance use. Study findings suggest a particular need to address the dangers of sharing with young individuals initiating injection drug use

Management of non-giant cell arteritis disease of the superficial temporal artery

Non-giant cell arteritis disease of the superficial temporal artery (STA) is rare, appearing only as case reports in the literature. There were nine patients with STA pathology. STA aneurysm (n = 1), pseudoaneurysm (n = 4), thrombosis (n = 1), and arteriovenous malformation (n = 3). Four patients had ligation and excision, three had percutaneous interventions and one had a combination of both. All patients had immediate technical success and eight of the nine total patients had follow-up. We present a variety of ways to approach these unusual pathologies with percutaneous and open techniques demonstrating very good early outcome

Older Age Is Associated with Peripheral Blood Expansion of Naïve B Cells in HIV-Infected Subjects on Antiretroviral Therapy

Older HIV infected subjects were previously found to have significant B cell expansion during initial antiretroviral therapy in a prospective age-differentiated cohort of older and younger (≥45 vs. ≤30 years) HIV-infected subjects initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) through the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Here to further describe this expansion, using a subset of subjects from the same cohort, we characterized B cell phenotypes at baseline and after 192 weeks of ART in both older and younger HIV-infected groups and compared them to uninfected age-matched controls. We also examined whether phenotypes at baseline associated with response to tetanus and hepatitis A vaccine at 12 weeks. Forty six subjects were analyzed in the HIV infected group (21 older, 25 younger) and 30 in the control group (15 per age group). We observed naïve B cells to normalize in younger subjects after 192 weeks of ART, while in older subjects naïve B cells increased to greater levels than those of controls (p = 0.045). Absolute resting memory (RM) cell count was significantly lower in the older HIV infected group at baseline compared to controls and numbers normalized after 192 weeks of ART (p<0.001). Baseline RM cell count positively correlated with week 12 increase in antibody to tetanus vaccine among both younger and older HIV-infected subjects combined (p = 0.01), but not in controls. The age-associated naïve B cell expansion is a novel finding and we discuss several possible explanations for this observation. Relationship between RM cells at baseline and tetanus responses may lead to insights about the effects of HIV infection on B cell memory function and vaccine responses

Sexual behavior, psychosocial and knowledge differences between consistent, inconsistent and non-users of condoms: a study of female bar and hotel workers in Moshi, Tanzania.

Understanding psychosocial, sexual behavior and knowledge differences between never, inconsistent and consistent condom users can improve interventions to increase condom use in resource-poor countries, but they have not been adequately studied. We examined these differences in a cohort of 961 female hotel and bar workers in Moshi, Tanzania. Forty-nine percent of women reported no condom use; 39% reported inconsistent use, and 12% reported consistent use. Women with multiple sexual partners in the past five years were less likely to be consistent rather than inconsistent users as were women who had ever exchanged sex for gifts or money. Inconsistent users had higher condom knowledge and higher perceived acceptability of condom use than did never users, but they did not differ from consistent users by these factors. There are important differences between women by level of condom use. These findings can help inform interventions to increase condom use

Construction and biological characterization of an HB-GAM/FGF-1 chimera for vascular tissue engineering

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Comparative analysis between condom use clusters and risk behaviours among portuguese university students

The research on condom use has been focused on high-risk individuals, paying less attention to those who have moderate risk or safe sexual conducts. In order to design accurate interventions, potential differences among the condom use behavior groups must be considered. The goal was to assess possible differences in individuals presenting different types of risk behavior. 140 heterosexual university students answered a self-reported questionnaire about their sexual history, condom use habits, sexual self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, sexual control, attitudes towards condoms, self-efficacy to condom use, and emotions and feelings during sexual intercourse. A cluster analysis was conducted using the results about condom use and risk behaviors. Three groups with different risk levels emerged, presenting differences over sexual self-efficacy, attitudes towards condoms, socio-demographic variables, and sexual history. The results suggest the condom use inconsistency is highly associated with other risk behaviors but the contrary does not necessarily happens. Condom use consistent users also presented risk behaviors as smoking and drinking. The group differences suggest the risks were more affected by the combination of lack of skills with a negative attitude toward condoms than by contextual or personal variables. These differences sustain the need of an intervention adjusted to the individual's risk levels, since they differ on skills and beliefs that may hinder or promote the adoption of health behaviors.Foundation for Science and Technology/Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Review of Web-Based Job Advertisements for Australian Event Management Positions

Strong growths in the Australian event management industry, ongoing technological changes and the internationalisation of the market place has spurred the need for appropriately educated and trained event managers and for a re-evaluation of educational and job training curriculum to meet these new challenges. In order for Australia to position itself as a world leader in event management, it is important to provide consistent high professional standards and event managers that not only meet, but exceed the demands of the industry. While there is some literature that focuses on the tourism and leisure job market (Crossley, 1992; Keung & Pine, 2000), and a small but developing literature base that focuses on event management training (Harris & Jago, 1999; Hawkins & Goldbatt, 1995) relatively little consideration has been given to a national agenda for event management skilling. To provide an indication of current employer requirements, a nationwide study of job advertisements in event management has commenced. The aims of the study are to further the understanding of the educational needs and training requirements of the industry; to ascertain the learned skills and personal attributes sought from event managers; to determine the compatibility of industry demands with current educational and vocational provisions; and to suggest post-secondary institutional avenues through which event management education and training needs can be pursued. This is an ongoing study and it is hoped that it will contribute towards a broad scale understanding of the event management job market. More importantly however, it can be used as the basis for curriculum evaluation and training needs, and create a better understanding and compatibility between event management education and industry practice. This paper reports the preliminary results from a content analysis of approximately 100 web-based job advertisements. Email alert accounts were established with several search engines to gather a sample of event management related job advertisements from around Australia. An analytical framework was devised for the analysis of the advertisements themselves. The results reveal several interesting trends including the geographical concentration of the event management job market, the range of industries that require event management specialists or event management skills, and a series of required skills and key attributes of event managers. The results of this study establish a platform from which to develop a classification of event management skills required by the industry

Role of Condom Negotiation on Condom use among Women of Reproductive Age in three Districts in Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS remains being a disease of great public health concern worldwide. In regions such as sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where women are disproportionately infected with HIV, women are reportedly less likely capable of negotiating condom use. However, while knowledge of condom use for HIV prevention is extensive among men and women in many countries including Tanzania, evidence is limited about the role of condom negotiation on condom use among women in rural Tanzania. METHODS: Data originate from a cross-sectional survey of random households conducted in 2011 in Rufiji, Kilombero and Ulanga districts in Tanzania. The survey assessed health-seeking behaviour among women and children using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. A total of 2,614 women who were sexually experienced and aged 15--49 years were extracted from the main database for the current analysis. Linkage between condom negotiation and condom use at the last sexual intercourse was assessed using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Prevalence of condom use at the last sexual intercourse was 22.2% overall, ranging from12.2% among married women to 54.9% among unmarried (single) women. Majority of the women (73.4%) reported being confident to negotiate condom use, and these women were significantly more likely than those who were not confident to have used a condom at the last sexual intercourse (OR = 3.13, 95% CI 2.22-4.41). This effect was controlled for marital status, age, education, religion, number of sexual partners, household wealth and knowledge of HIV prevention by condom use. CONCLUSION: Confidence to negotiate condom use is a significant predictor of actual condom use among women in rural Tanzania. Women especially unmarried ones or those in multiple partnerships should be empowered with condom negotiation skills to enhance their sexual and reproductive health outcomes