Work and Family Roles of Young Oklahoma Farm Women

Housing, Design, and Consumer Resource

Preliminary, real-world, multicenter experience with omadacycline for Mycobacterium abscessus infections

Twelve patients were treated with omadacycline (OMC) as part of a multidrug regimen fo

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a specialized health coaching intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention in women: the HIPP study

BackgroundPregnancy is a time of significant physiological and physical change for women. In particular, it is a time at which many women are at risk of gaining excessive weight. We describe the rationale and methods of the Health in Pregnancy and Post-birth (HIPP) Study, a study which aims primarily to determine the effectiveness of a specialized health coaching (HC) intervention during pregnancy, compared to education alone, in preventing excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention 12 months post birth. A secondary aim of this study is to evaluate the mechanisms by which our HC intervention impacts on weight management both during pregnancy and post birth.Methods/DesignThe randomized controlled trial will be conducted with 220 women who have a BMI &gt; 18.5 (American IOM cut-off for normal weight), are 18 years of age or older, English speaking, no history of disordered eating or diabetes and are less than 18 weeks gestation at recruitment. Women will be randomly allocated to either a specialized HC intervention group or an Education Alone group. Our specialized HC intervention has two components: (1) one-on-one sessions with a Health Coach, and (2) two by two hour educational group sessions led by a Health Coach. Women in the Education Alone group will receive two by two hour educational group sessions with no HC components. Body Mass Index, waist circumference, and psychological factors including motivation, readiness to change, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and body dissatisfaction will be assessed at baseline (14-16 weeks gestation), and again at follow-up: 32 weeks gestation, 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months postpartum.DiscussionOur study responds to the urgent need to design effective interventions in pregnancy to prevent excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention. Our pregnancy HC intervention is novel and innovative and has been designed to be easily adopted by health professionals who work with pregnant women, such as obstetricians, midwives, allied health professionals and health psychologists. <br /

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Cytosolic abscisic acid activates guard cell anion channels without preceding Ca(2+) signals

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) reports on the water status of the plant and induces stomatal closure. Guard cell anion channels play a central role in this response, because they mediate anion efflux, and in turn, cause a depolarization-induced K(+) release. We recorded early steps in ABA signaling, introducing multibarreled microelectrodes in guard cells of intact plants. Upon external ABA treatment, anion channels transiently activated after a lag phase of ≈2 min. As expected for a cytosolic ABA receptor, iontophoretic ABA loading into the cytoplasm initiated a rise in anion current without delay. These ABA responses could be elicited repetitively at resting and at largely depolarized potentials (e.g., 0 mV), ruling out signal transduction by means of hyperpolarization-activated calcium channels. Likewise, ABA stimulation did not induce a rise in the cytosolic free-calcium concentration. However, the presence of ≈100 nM background Ca(2+) was required for anion channel function, because the action of ABA on anion channels was repressed after loading of the Ca(2+) chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetate. The chain of events appears very direct, because none of the tested putative ABA-signaling intermediates (inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate, inositol hexakisphosphate, nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate, and cyclic ADP-ribose), could mimic ABA as anion channel activator. In patch-clamp experiments, cytosolic ABA also evoked anion current transients carried by R- and S-type anion channels. The response was dose-dependent with half-maximum activation at 2.6 μM ABA. Our studies point to an ABA pathway initiated by ABA binding to a cytosolic receptor that within seconds activates anion channels, and in turn, leads to depolarization of the plasma membrane

Preliminary validation of a health-related quality of life symptom index for persons treated or actively monitored for anal HSIL (AMC –A02, -A03)

Background: Precancerous anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and its associated treatments have the potential to reduce health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in impacted individuals. The ANCHOR (ANal Cancer HSIL Outcomes Research) trial aims to determine whether treating anal HSIL, versus active monitoring, is effective in reducing incidence of anal cancer in HIV-infected individuals. The present study sought to establish preliminary psychometric evidence of the 25-item ANCHOR Health-Related Symptom Inventory (A-HRSI). Methods: Eligible ANCHOR participants recruited within two-weeks post-treatment or randomization to active surveillance completed the A-HRSI and well-established legacy HRQoL measures (i.e., Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General [FACT-G] and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory [MDASI]) via telephone. Construct validity was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Pearson correlations were then calculated between summed items within the resulting A-HRSI latent factors and legacy measure outcome subscales to establish convergent and divergent validity. Results: 200 participants were enrolled. EFA provided initial confirmation that the A-HRSI items are best represented by the proposed broad three-factor structure (e.g., physical symptoms, physical impacts, psychological symptoms). These three factors had fair to moderate Pearson correlations with FACT-G Total and MDASI Symptom Severity and Interference subscales. Conclusions: Preliminary psychometric evidence exists to support the construct validity of the A-HRSI, indicating this measure can capture disease- and treatment-related physical and psychological symptoms and physical impacts. Clinical responsiveness and Spanish-translation of this measure will be completed prior to ultimately deploying this measure in the ANCHOR trial to facilitate participant reporting of their HRQoL to inform clinical decision-making

A modeling framework to inform preexposure prophylaxis initiation and retention scale-up in the context of 'Getting to Zero' initiatives.

Objective(s)'Getting to Zero' (GTZ) initiatives aim to eliminate new HIV infections over a projected time frame. Increased preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among populations with the highest HIV incidence, such as young Black MSM, is necessary to accomplish this aim. Agent-based network models (ABNMs) can help guide policymakers on strategies to increase PrEP uptake.DesignEffective PrEP implementation requires a model that incorporates the dynamics of interventions and dynamic feedbacks across multiple levels including virus, host, behavior, networks, and population. ABNMs are a powerful tool to incorporate these processes.MethodsAn ABNM, designed for and parameterized using data for young Black MSM in Illinois, was used to compare the impact of PrEP initiation and retention interventions on HIV incidence after 10 years, consistent with GTZ timelines. Initiation interventions selected individuals in serodiscordant partnerships, or in critical sexual network positions, and compared with a controlled setting where PrEP initiators were randomly selected. Retention interventions increased the mean duration of PrEP use. A combination intervention modeled concurrent increases in PrEP initiation and retention.ResultsSelecting HIV-negative individuals for PrEP initiation in serodiscordant partnerships resulted in the largest HIV incidence declines, relative to other interventions. For a given PrEP uptake level, distributing effort between increasing PrEP initiation and retention in combination was approximately as effective as increasing only one exclusively.ConclusionSimulation results indicate that expanded PrEP interventions alone may not accomplish GTZ goals within a decade, and integrated scale-up of PrEP, antiretroviral therapy, and other interventions might be necessary