Sarcoptes-World Molecular Network (Sarcoptes-WMN): Integrating research on scabies

Parasites threaten human and animal health globally. It is estimated that more than 60% of people on planet Earth carry at least one parasite, many of them several different species. Unfortunately, parasite studies suffer from duplications and inconsistencies between different investigator groups. Hence, groups need to collaborate in an integrated manner in areas including parasite control, improved therapy strategies, diagnostic and surveillance tools, and public awareness. Parasite studies will be better served if there is coordinated management of field data and samples across multidisciplinary approach plans, among academic and non-academic organizations worldwide. In this paper we report the first 'Living organism-World Molecular Network', with the cooperation of 167 parasitologists from 88 countries on all continents. This integrative approach, the 'Sarcoptes-World Molecular Network', seeks to harmonize Sarcoptes epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and molecular studies from all over the world, with the aim of decreasing mite infestations in humans and animals. © 2011 International Society for Infectious Diseases.Peer Reviewe

Acute alcohol does not impair attentional inhibition as measured with Stroop interference scores but impairs Stroop performance

Rationale: Inhibition is a core executive function and refers to the ability to deliberately suppress attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions and instead act in a specific manner. While acute alcohol exposure has been shown to impair response inhibition in the stop-signal and Go/NoGo tasks, reported alcohol effects on attentional inhibition in the Stroop task are inconsistent. Notably, studies have operationalized attentional inhibition variably and there has been intra- and inter-individual variability in alcohol exposure. Objective: This study aimed to examine the acute effects of alcohol on attentional inhibition, considering previous limitations. Methods: In a single-blind, cross-over design, 40 non-dependent participants with a medium-to-high risk drinking behavior performed a Counting Stroop task (CST) under a baseline and an arterial blood alcohol concentration (aBAC) clamp at 80 mg%. Attentional inhibition was assessed as the alteration of reaction times (RT), error rates (ER), and inverse efficiency scores (IES) between incongruent and congruent trials (interference score). Stroop performance was also assessed regardless of trial-type. Results: Compared to saline, acute alcohol exposure via an aBAC clamp did not affect CST interference scores but increased RTs and IES in both incongruent and congruent trials. Conclusions: Attentional inhibition (Stroop interference score) was not impaired by clamped moderate alcohol exposure. Acute alcohol impaired Stroop performance evidenced by a general increase in response times. Our findings suggest that response and attentional inhibition do not share the same neurocognitive mechanisms and are affected differently by alcohol. Results could also be explained by automated behaviors known to be relatively unaffected by acute alcohol

The Politics of Welfare Exclusion: Immigration and Disparity in Medicaid Coverage

The rapid growth of the immigrant population in the U.S., along with changes in the demographics and the political landscape, has often raised questions for understanding trends of inequality. Important issues that have received little scholarly attention thus far are excluding immigrants’ social rights through decisive policy choices and the distributive consequences of such exclusive policies. In this paper, we examine how immigration and state policies on immigrants’ access to safety net programs together influence social inequality in the context of health care. We analyze the combined effect of immigration population density and state immigrant Medicaid eligibility rules on the gap of Medicaid coverage rates between native- and foreign-born populations. When tracking inequality in Medicaid coverage and critical policy changes in the post-PRWORA era, we find that exclusive state policies widen the native-foreign Medicaid coverage gap. Moreover, the effect of state policies is conditional upon the size of the immigrant population in that state. Our findings suggest immigrants’ formal integration into the welfare system is crucial for understanding social inequality in the U.S. states

Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND)—Iron Review

This is the fifth in the series of reviews developed as part of the Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND) program. The BOND Iron Expert Panel (I-EP) reviewed the extant knowledge regarding iron biology, public health implications, and the relative usefulness of currently available biomarkers of iron status from deficiency to overload. Approaches to assessing intake, including bioavailability, are also covered. The report also covers technical and laboratory considerations for the use of available biomarkers of iron status, and concludes with a description of research priorities along with a brief discussion of new biomarkers with potential for use across the spectrum of activities related to the study of iron in human health. The I-EP concluded that current iron biomarkers are reliable for accurately assessing many aspects of iron nutrition. However, a clear distinction is made between the relative strengths of biomarkers to assess hematological consequences of iron deficiency versus other putative functional outcomes, particularly the relationship between maternal and fetal iron status during pregnancy, birth outcomes, and infant cognitive, motor and emotional development. The I-EP also highlighted the importance of considering the confounding effects of inflammation and infection on the interpretation of iron biomarker results, as well as the impact of life stage. Finally, alternative approaches to the evaluation of the risk for nutritional iron overload at the population level are presented, because the currently designated upper limits for the biomarker generally employed (serum ferritin) may not differentiate between true iron overload and the effects of subclinical inflammation

Regulating self-selection into private health insurance in Chile and the United States

In the 1980s, Chile adopted a mixed (public and private) model for health insurance coverage similar to the one recently outlined by the Affordable Care Act in the United States (US). In such a system, a mix of public and private health plans offer nearly universal coverage using a combined approach of managed competition and subsidies for low-income individuals. This paper uses a "most different" case study design to compare policies implemented in Chile and the US to address self-selection into private insurance. We argue that the implementation of a mixed health insurance system in Chile without the appropriate regulations was complex, and it generated a series of inequities and perverse incentives. The comparison of Chile and the US healthcare reforms examines the different approaches that both countries have used to manage economic competition, address health insurance self-selection and promote solidarity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The use of an oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol and drospirenone in an extended regimen over 126 days

Objective: To assess the bleeding profile, acceptance and safety of an extended 126-day regimen of the oral contraceptive Yasmin(R) [30 mu g ethinylestradiol (EE) and 3 mg drospirenone (DRSP)]. Methods: Using daily diaries, 177 women recorded bleeding events throughout the 126-day cycle. At end of treatment, the women completed questionnaires reflecting their satisfaction with the extended regimen. A Subset of 30 women underwent endometrial histology sampling after completion of the extended regimen. Results: Of 177 women assigned to the extended regimen, 80.8% completed the extended 126-day regimen. Approximately 40% of the women reported complete absence of bleeding, while in 60% a shift towards less intense bleeding was observed. The first onset of bleeding occurred after a median of 99.0 days into the extended cycle. The acceptance of the extended regimen was high, with 68.4% of the women expressing satisfaction. The general safety profile with the extended use was comparable to that seen with the conventional 21+7-day regimen. All endometrial biopsies with sufficient material for analysis were normal and supported the endometrial safety of the extended regimen. Conclusion: This study showed that the continuous use of a 30-mu g EE and 3-mg DRSP formulation over 126 days was safe, efficacious, well accepted by the users and resulted in a considerable reduction of bleeding. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved