Mean kinetic temperature evaluations through simulated temperature excursions and risk assessment with oral dosage usage for health programs.

Background: Temperature excursions occur during the transport and storage of pharmaceuticals, and often result in considerable losses for public health programs operating in countries with limited resources. After a temperature excursion has been identified, often products are discarded without any additional risk assessments. Consulting the manufacturer is the preferred approach but can be challenging depending on the responsiveness of the manufacturer.

Understanding the link between childhood trauma and schizophrenia: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies.

Increasing evidence suggests that childhood trauma (CT) is a major risk factor for schizophrenia but the underpinning mechanisms of their association remain unclear. Our aim is to review the literature on the association between CT and brain imaging measurements in adult schizophrenia subjects. We conducted a systematic review of the existing neuroimaging literature on CT and schizophrenia.

Fear extinction learning improvement in PTSD after EMDR therapy: an fMRI study.

: Neurobiological models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) implicate fear processing impairments in the maintenance of the disorder. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the most efficient psychotherapies to treat PTSD. We aimed at exploring the brain mechanisms of the fear circuitry involved in PTSD patients' symptom remission after EMDR therapy.

Poor quality male latex condoms found in Dominican Republic: Quality assurance evaluation and public health impact.

Male condoms are important to prevent transmission of HIV (and other STIs) and unwanted pregnancies. Research was conducted to evaluate the quality of male condoms available in the Dominican Republic market based on preliminary concerns of suspect product. Based on international testing standards (ISO 4074 and ASTM D 3492-08), condoms were sampled across ten prominent brands within the market and evaluated for airburst pressure / volume, freedom from holes, visual defects, package seal integrity, packaging and marking, lubricant quantity, and dimensions.

Taste at first (person) sight: Visual perspective modulates brain activity implicitly associated with viewing unhealthy but not healthy foods.

Every day, people are exposed to images of appetizing foods that can lead to high-calorie intake and contribute to overweight and obesity. Research has documented that manipulating the visual perspective from which eating is viewed helps resist temptation by altering the appraisal of unhealthy foods. However, the neural basis of this effect has not yet been examined using neuroimaging methods.

Impaired cortico-limbic functional connectivity in schizophrenia patients during emotion processing.

Functional dysconnection is increasingly recognized as a core pathological feature in schizophrenia. Aberrant interactions between regions of the cortico-limbic circuit may underpin the abnormal emotional processing associated with this illness. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm designed to dissociate the various components of the cortico-limbic circuit (i.

Modeling a linkage between blood transcriptional expression and activity in brain regions to infer the phenotype of schizophrenia patients.

Unlabelled: Hundreds of genetic loci participate to schizophrenia liability. It is also known that impaired cerebral connectivity is directly related to the cognitive and affective disturbances in schizophrenia. How genetic susceptibility and brain neural networks interact to specify a pathological phenotype in schizophrenia remains elusive.

Grey matter density changes of structures involved in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after recovery following Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

Recovery of stress-induced structural alterations in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to determine whether symptoms improvement is associated with grey matter (GM) density changes of brain structures involved in PTSD. Two groups of PTSD patients were involved in this study.

Childhood trauma and emotional processing circuits in schizophrenia: A functional connectivity study.

Childhood trauma strongly impacts emotional responses in schizophrenia. We have explored an association between early trauma and the amygdala functional connectivity using generalized psychophysiological interaction during an emotional task. Twenty-one schizophrenia patients and twenty-five controls were included.

[Impulsivity: What are the consequences on compliance to rehabilitation?].

Introduction: Impulsivity is a transnosographical dimension with major consequences on medical care with which psychiatrists are frequently confronted. Furthermore, compliance is a major variable that can affect the efficiency of therapeutics and hospitalizations in psychiatry. A study was carried out in three drug and alcohol rehabilitation hospitalization units to find out if impulsivity can have consequences on compliance.

In vivo release of levonorgestrel from Sino-implant (II) — an innovative comparison of explant data.

Objectives: Measuring the amount of progestin remaining in contraceptive implants used for different lengths of time provides useful information on in vivo release kinetics including change over time. We compared estimated in vivo levonorgestrel (LNG) release rates derived from Sino-implant (II) explants with similar data from removed Jadelle.

Study Design: We measured LNG remaining in 44 sets of Sino-implant (II) used for up to 7 years and removed in four Chinese clinics.

Childhood neglect predicts disorganization in schizophrenia through grey matter decrease in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Objective: Psychosocial trauma during childhood is associated with schizophrenia vulnerability. The pattern of grey matter decrease is similar to brain alterations seen in schizophrenia. Our objective was to explore the links between childhood trauma, brain morphology and schizophrenia symptoms.

Effect of trait anxiety on prefrontal control mechanisms during emotional conflict.

Converging evidence points to a link between anxiety proneness and altered emotional functioning, including threat-related biases in selective attention and higher susceptibility to emotionally ambiguous stimuli. However, during these complex emotional situations, it remains unclear how trait anxiety affects the engagement of the prefrontal emotional control system and particularly the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a core region at the intersection of the limbic and prefrontal systems. Using an emotional conflict task and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated in healthy subjects the relations between trait anxiety and both regional activity and functional connectivity (psychophysiological interaction) of the ACC.

Development and implementation of a quality assurance program for a hormonal contraceptive implant.

Background: The importance of the distribution of safe, effective and cost-effective pharmaceutical products in resource-constrained countries is the subject of increasing attention. FHI 360 has developed a program aimed at evaluating the quality of a contraceptive implant manufactured in China, while the product is being registered in an increasing number of countries and distributed by international procurement agencies. The program consists of (1) independent product testing; (2) ongoing evaluation of the manufacturing facility through audits and inspections; and (3) post-marketing surveillance.

A lifetime cancer bioassay of quinacrine administered into the uterine horns of female rats.

This study investigated if quinacrine can induce a tumorigenic response in rats when administered in a manner similar to the intended human use for female non-surgical sterilization. Young sexually mature female rats received two doses of quinacrine (or 1% methylcellulose control) into each uterine horn approximately 21 days apart, and were observed for 23 months after the second dose administration. Dose levels were 0/0, 0/0, 10/10, 70/70, and 70/250-350 mg/kg (first dose/second dose), which represent local doses in the uterus at approximate multiples of 1x, 8x and 40x the human dose (mg quinacrine/g uterine weight) used for female non-surgical sterilization.

A one-year neonatal mouse carcinogenesis study of quinacrine dihydrochloride.

Quinacrine is an acridine derivative under investigation for its use in nonsurgical female sterilization. Safety issues regarding the carcinogenic potential of quinacrine have been raised because it is mutagenic and clastogenic in vitro. The objective of the study was to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of quinacrine dihydrochloride (quinacrine) in neonatal mice treated with single intraperitoneal doses on postpartum days 8 and 15 and observed for 52 weeks.

Re-evaluation of the mutagenic potential of quinacrine dihydrochloride dihydrate.

Quinacrine has been used for voluntary female non-surgical sterilization for its ability to produce tubal occlusion. Safety issues regarding quinacrine have been raised because it has been shown to intercalate with DNA. Therefore, safety issues need to be resolved by appropriate toxicology studies to support a review for human transcervical use.

Significance of incorporating measures of sperm production and function into rat toxicology studies.

The rat is the preferred species for reproductive toxicity testing. The inclusion of measures of rat sperm quality, such as motility and morphology, into reproductive test protocols often increases the sensitivity of the test to detect effects, and provides the toxicologist and risk assessor with valuable information about the nature of the reproductive toxicity of the test substance. Technical advances in computer-aided sperm analysis have made it possible to evaluate motion characteristics of rat spermatozoa.

Objective evaluation of hyperactivated motility in rat spermatozoa using computer-assisted sperm analysis.

The aim of this study was to use computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) to examine changes in motion parameters of rat spermatozoa incubated under culture conditions that support IVF. Rat cauda epididymal spermatozoa were evaluated in six replicate experiments, at 0 and 4h of incubation. CASA was conducted at 60 Hz on digital 1s tracks ( approximately 100 spermatozoa/rat).

Osteopontin localization in the Holstein bull reproductive tract.

Previously we reported that the 55-kDa fertility-associated protein in Holstein bull seminal plasma (SP) is osteopontin (OPN). The objective of the present study was to localize OPN in tissues and fluids in the Holstein bull reproductive tract to determine its origin. Antisera generated against human recombinant OPN, as well as antiserum prepared against purified bovine seminal plasma OPN, reacted with protein in SP, accessory sex gland fluid, seminal vesicle fluid, ampullary fluid, and urine using one- and two-dimensional SDS-PAGE Western blot analysis.

Osteopontin is the 55-kilodalton fertility-associated protein in Holstein bull seminal plasma.

Previously we identified four proteins in seminal plasma that were associated with bull fertility. The purpose of this study was to identify the 55-kDa protein prevalent in seminal plasma of higher-fertility males. The 55-kDa protein was quantified by video densitometry in two-dimensional electrophoresis gels of seminal plasma from 26 bulls of known fertility.