This article traces the evolution of the Big Events framework since it began as an attempt to understand why sociopolitical transitions in the Former Soviet Union, South Africa, and Indonesia were followed by HIV outbreaks. Big Events frameworks have evolved over time, but all versions try to concretize how macrosocial changes lead to social, personal and environmental changes that shape risk environments and drug use or other behavioral patterns in ways that may lead to epidemics. Important stages in the evolution of the Big Events framework included understanding that the sequelae of Big Events were contingent rather than deterministic, and the development of new survey measures to understand pathways through which Big Events affect social and epidemiologic outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a potentially life-threatening form of tuberculosis (TB) that affects the central nervous system. Its management in patients with concomitant chronic liver disease (CLD) presents unique challenges due to altered drug metabolism with potentially impaired spinal fluid drug penetration and hepatotoxicity. The standard regimen for TBM includes isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RIF), and Pyrazinamide (PZA) which are metabolized by the liver and may cause hepatotoxicity, which can exacerbate preexisting liver disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Exposure to bias in clinical learning environments may undermine students' confidence, cause emotional harm, impede learning, and potentially delay graduation. However, little is known about the prevalence of bias experienced by midwifery students in the United States. This cross-sectional, descriptive study aimed to quantify clinical midwifery students' experiences of bias based on 7 self-identified characteristics (gender identity, race or ethnicity, body size, age, sexual orientation, religion, and occupational background).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: Endobronchial biopsy (EBBX) has been reported to increase diagnostic yield for pulmonary sarcoidosis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the diagnostic yield for EBBX following endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA).
Methods: We identified a cohort of patients in the University of Minnesota Sarcoidosis Registry who had EBBx and EBUS-TBNA as part of workup for abnormal chest imaging.
Hormones and neurotransmitters are essential to homeostasis, and their disruptions are connected to diseases ranging from cancer to anxiety. The differential reactivation of endobiotic glucuronides by gut microbial β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzymes may influence interindividual differences in the onset and treatment of disease. Using multi-omic, in vitro, and in vivo approaches, we show that germ-free mice have reduced levels of active endobiotics and that distinct gut microbial Loop 1 and FMN GUS enzymes drive hormone and neurotransmitter reactivation.
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