Direct and Indirect Care of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: Burden on Providers and Impact of Portal Messages.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) indirect patient-care time is often underreported and uncompensated. Data on time spent on indirect and direct care by MS providers is lacking.

Methods: A survey was designed to understand the practice patterns among MS providers in the United States, including time spent on direct and indirect patient care, as well as managing electronic medical record portal messages.

Awareness of Preeclampsia among Antenatal Clinic Attendees in Northwestern Nigeria.

 Preeclampsia (PE) is among the five main causes of maternal mortality in low resource countries. This study was designed to assess PE awareness and its socioeconomic determinants among antenatal clinic attendees in northwestern Nigeria.  Two hundred twenty-one antenatal clinic attendees in northwestern Nigeria were selected through systematic random sampling for this quantitative study.

Patient and health worker experiences of differentiated models of care for stable HIV patients in Malawi: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Several models of differentiated care for stable HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi have been introduced to ensure that care is efficient and patient-centered. Three models have been prioritized by the government for a deeper and broader understanding: adjusted appointment spacing through multi-month scripting (MMS); fast-track drug refills (FTRs) on alternating visits; and community ART groups (CAGs) where rotating group members collect medications at the facility for all members. This qualitative study aimed to understand the challenges and successes of implementing these models of care and of the process of patient differentiation.

Multi-month prescriptions, fast-track refills, and community ART groups: results from a process evaluation in Malawi on using differentiated models of care to achieve national HIV treatment goals.

Introduction: In order to facilitate scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi, innovative and pragmatic models have been developed to optimize the efficiency of HIV service delivery. In particular, three models of differentiated care have emerged for stable patients: adjusted appointment spacing through multi-month scripting (MMS); fast-track drug refills (FTRs) on alternating visits; and community ART groups (CAGs) where group members rotate in collecting medications at the facility for all members. This study aimed to assess the extent to which ART patients in Malawi are differentiated based on clinical stability and describe the characteristics and costs associated with the models of differentiated care offered.

Identifying Zn-bound histidine residues in metalloproteins using hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

In this work, we have developed a method that uses hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) of C2-hydrogens of histidines coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify Zn-bound histidines in metalloproteins. This method relies on differences in HDX reaction rates of Zn-bound and Zn-free His residues. Using several model peptides and proteins, we find that all Zn-bound His residues have substantially lower HDX reaction rates in the presence of the metal.

A novel locus for body mass index on 5p15.2: a meta-analysis of two genome-wide association studies.

Objective: Genetic factors play an important role in modulating the vulnerability to body mass index (BMI). The purpose of this study is to identify novel genetic variants for BMI using genome-wide association (GWA) meta-analysis.

Methods: PLINK software was used to perform meta-analysis of two GWA studies (the FUSION and Marshfield samples) of 5218 Caucasian individuals with BMI.

Where there is no anesthetist--increasing capacity for emergency obstetric care in rural India: an evaluation of a pilot program to train general doctors.

Objective: The lack of anesthesia providers in rural public sector hospitals is a significant barrier to providing emergency obstetric care. In 2006, the state of Gujarat initiated the Life Saving Anesthetic Skills (LSAS) for Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) training program for medical offers (MOs). We evaluated the trained MOs' experience of the program, and identified factors leading to post-training performance.