Improving uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination in a homeless population: mixed-methods evaluation of community health worker-led education in a shelter.

Objectives: Access to healthcare and accurate health information is a persistent issue for people experiencing homelessness (PEH), one heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by issues of health literacy and mistrust. Strategies involving community health workers (CHWs) have the potential to improve education and service delivery for PEH. The objective of this study is to assess PEH knowledge, attitudes and barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination, and the impact of CHW-led education within a homeless shelter in Indiana.

Stakeholder-engaged development of a rapid test for detection of acute HIV infection.

Background/objective: The utilization of rapid HIV tests has been effective at reducing transmission rates in high-risk populations by allowing individuals to receive diagnosis in as little as one minute and begin treatment. However, no current rapid tests can detect HIV immediately after infection in the acute HIV infection (AHI) phase, when the virus is at its most infectious, and instead require a waiting period of up to 90 days after exposure. Rapid HIV tests to detect AHI are currently under development.

Human-centered design of a smartphone-based self-test for HIV viral load monitoring.

Background/objective: HIV viral load self-testing could enable people living with HIV (PLHIV) to monitor their viral suppression status more easily, potentially facilitating medication adherence and safe behavior decision-making. Smartphone-based viral load testing innovations have the potential to reach resource-limited and vulnerable communities to address inequities in access to HIV care. However, successful development and translation of these tests requires meaningful investigation of end-user contexts and incorporation of those context-specific needs early in the design process.

Feasibility and anticipated acceptability of community health worker-facilitated HPV self-sampling for cervical cancer screening around Lake County, Indiana.

Background/objective: In light of calls to engage community health workers (CHWs) in the delivery of cervical cancer screening innovations, this study explores CHW perspectives on i) barriers to cervical cancer screening in a predominantly Hispanic community in Lake County, Indiana, the county with the highest cervical mortality in the state; and ii) the acceptability and feasibility of CHW-facilitated human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling as a means of reducing screening disparities.

Methods: In 2021, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 CHWs employed by Lake County community-based organizations including clinics, schools, and faith-based organizations.

Results: Harnessing CHWs' voices as insiders with knowledge of their communities' health landscape, our analysis identified multilevel barriers to screening that spanned individual, interpersonal, and community levels of the socio-ecological model.

Leveraging COVID-era innovation for cervical cancer screening: Clinician awareness and attitudes toward self-sampling and rapid testing for HPV detection.

Cervical cancer screening rates are declining in the US, with persistent disparities among vulnerable populations. Strategies to better reach under-screened communities are needed. The COVID pandemic sparked major shifts in healthcare delivery, including the accelerated development and adoption of rapid diagnostic testing, broadened access to remote care, and growing consumer demand for self-testing, which could be leveraged for cervical cancer.

Clinician practices, knowledge, and attitudes regarding primary human papillomavirus testing for cervical cancer screening: A mixed-methods study in Indiana.

Primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, in which a high-risk HPV test is administered without cytology, was first included in 2018 US cervical cancer screening guidelines. Subsequent guidelines endorsed primary HPV testing as the preferred method for cervical cancer screening following evidence of its clinical and economic benefits, although many sources still indicate it as an option along with cytology and HPV/Pap co-testing. Primary HPV testing could be key to improving the declining cervical cancer screening rates in the US; however its adoption has been slow as clinicians are hesitant to make the change.

[Effect of nootropes on quantitative changes in the rat cerebral cortex GABA(A) receptor complexes under experimental hypokinesia conditions].

The influence of picamilon and piracetam on the quantitative changes in the central GABA(A) macromolecular receptor complexes in the rat brain has been investigated under the experimental conditions of hypokinesia. It was found that the injection of these nootropes under the conditions of 7-day hypokinesia and 4-day recovery period did not show visible changes in the amount of active GABA(A) receptors. However, the injection of picamilon under the conditions of 15-day hypokinesia and 8-day recovery period showed a tendency to restoration of the number of active GABA(A) receptors.

[The effect of hypokinesia on depression and on the central GABA-A receptor complexes in the rat brain].

The influence of a 15-day hypokinesia on the development of anxiety-depression state and quantitative changes in the central GABA-A macromolecular receptor complexes in the rat brain has been investigated under conditions of the despair (forced swim) test. Simultaneously, the effects of well-known nootropic drugs picamilon and piracetam on the dynamics of state parameters in the experimental animals have been evaluated. It was found that hypokinesia led to the development of anxiety and depression accompanied by reduction in the amount of active GABA-A receptors.

[Cerebral blood flow and thrombocyte aggregation at different times of hypokinesia and their regulation by antiaggregants].

Changes in local cerebral blood flow and in microcirculatory channels in the cortex of rat brain were studied in conditions of early and remote hypokinesia. The rheological parameters of blood were studied in patients which stayed in ber for a long time in traumatological hospitals. We showed that by the 60th day of hypokinesia and in conditions of active readaptation the disordered cerebral blood flow starts to stabilize and tendency to normalization of some parameters of the cerebral blood flow and microcirculatory channels become clearly seen.

[The characteristics of the action of GABA-ergic agents on the brain microcirculation during motor activity and hypodynamia].

Changes in the microcirculatory bed of the rat brain cortex during motor activity and hypodynamia under the action of piracetam, GABA and bicuculline were studied. The possibility of the development of compensatory processes due to the cerebral blood flow increase under the influence of GABA agonists at a disturbance of the cerebral hemodynamics in combination with increased locomotor activity and also due to the improvement of the microcirculation at early stages of hypodynamia induced by administration of GABA agonists opens up new perspectives in the use of GABA-positive drugs.

[Effects of GABA and piracetam on the development of experimental cerebral infarction in rats and platelet aggregation in patients with cerebrovascular disorders].

GABA and Piracetam caused the improvement of the morphological state of cerebral infarction, due to intracarotid infusion of Arachidonic acid. The effect of GABA was more pronounced. The diminishing of antiaggregatory effect of Piracetam arose in patients with acute cerebrovascular disturbances, compared with the donor group.

[Mechanism of action of piracetam on cerebral circulation].

The experimental data show that piracetam exerts a marked effect on cerebral hemodynamics producing a lowering of cerebral artery tonus and an increase of local blood flow. In addition, an increase of GABA content is noted, particularly following an experimentally-induced disorder of cerebral blood circulation. A stable dilatation of the mean capillary diameter, a decrease of the number of non-functioning capillaries in the brain cortex after piracetam administration indicate an important role of piracetam as a cyclic analogue of GABA in regulation and compensation of disordered cerebral hemodynamics.

[Motor activity and the content of neuroactive amino acids in brain tissues].

The influence of forced motor activity (swimming) on quantitative shifts in neuroactive amino acids (GABA, glutamic and aspartic acids and glycine) was studied in brain tissues of rats and cerebrospinal fluid of cats in health and brain circulation disturbances. The data obtained point to the elevation of the content of amino acids in the brain and appearance of GABA in the cerebrospinal fluid during brain ischemia.