Splenic dysfunction from celiac disease resulting in severe babesiosis.

We describe a 79-year-old Irish man who, because he had hyposplenism and splenic atrophy due to adult celiac disease, became critically ill from a severe Babesia divergens infection. Greater awareness of the possible consequences of splenic dysfunction from adult celiac disease, such as serious pneumococcal infections and babesiosis, is warranted.

Ultrasound-guided axillary nerve block for ED incision and drainage of deltoid abscess.

Deltoid abscesses are common and painful, often a consequence of injection drug use and seen frequently in emergency departments (EDs). The required incision and drainage can be completed successfully with effective pain relief using a peripheral nerve block. The brachial plexus nerve block works well, however it is technically complex with a low, but potentially serious, risk of complications such as phrenic nerve paralysis.

Physical and Sexual Violence Affecting Female Sex Workers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire: Prevalence, and the Relationship with the Work Environment, HIV, and Access to Health Services.

Background: Violence is a human rights violation, and an important measure in understanding HIV among female sex workers (FSW). However, limited data exist regarding correlates of violence among FSW in Côte d'Ivoire. Characterizing prevalence and determinants of violence and the relationship with structural risks for HIV can inform development and implementation of comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment programs.

Objective and subjective outcomes of strabismus surgery in Graves' orbitopathy: a prospective multicentre study.

Purpose: To assess the change and interrelationship of the field of binocular single vision (BSV) and the quality of life (QoL), tested with two different tools, after one or two strabismus surgeries in patients with Graves' orbitopathy (GO).

Methods: Prospectively, consecutive patients with GO who were scheduled for their first strabismus surgery were recruited from five centres specialized in the treatment of GO. One week preoperatively and 3 months after the last operation, a full ophthalmic and orthoptic examination was performed.

Refractory patella tendinopathy with failed conservative treatment-shock wave or arthroscopy?

Aim: To identify whether the location of refractory patella tendinopathy (PT) has an effect on treatment modality (radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) or arthroscopic debridement).

Methods: Between 2012 and 2014, 40 patients with PT underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. This confirmed the diagnosis as either involving the tendon itself (group A, 20) or with retropatella fat pad extension (group B, 20).

Asymmetric Pentagonal Metal Meshes for Flexible Transparent Electrodes and Heaters.

Metal meshes have emerged as an important class of flexible transparent electrodes. We report on the characteristics of a new class of asymmetric meshes, tiled using a recently discovered family of pentagons. Micron-scale meshes were fabricated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates via optical lithography, metal evaporation (Ti 10 nm, Pt 50 nm), and lift-off.

Behavioral and physiological consequences of enrichment loss in rats.

Significant loss produces the highest degree of stress and compromised well-being in humans. Current rodent models of stress involve the application of physically or psychologically aversive stimuli, but do not address the concept of loss. We developed a rodent model for significant loss, involving removal of long-term access to a rewarding enriched environment.

Painful Acute Corneal Ulceration and Anterior Stromal Keratitis in an Adolescent With Reactive Arthritis.

Reactive arthritis is occasionally associated with conjunctivitis and uveitis, but rarely keratitis. The authors describe a patient with paracentral anterior stromal keratitis with overlying epithelial erosion and multiple satellite subepithelial infiltrates. The initial appearance and the severe pain were suggestive of an infectious process.

Potential Impact of Integrated Stigma Mitigation Interventions in Improving HIV/AIDS Service Delivery and Uptake for Key Populations in Senegal.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) are consistently shown to have a higher burden of HIV compared with other adults in Senegal. This study, HIV Prevention 2.0, evaluates the impact of the 3-tiered integrated stigma mitigation interventions (ISMIs) approach to optimizing HIV service delivery for key populations in Senegal.

Class solutions for SABR-VMAT for high-risk prostate cancer with and without elective nodal irradiation.

Background: The purpose of this study is to find the optimal planning settings for prostate SABR-VMAT for high-risk prostate cancer patients irradiated to prostate only (PO) or prostate and pelvic lymph nodes (PPLN).

Methods: For 10 patients, plans using 6MV flattened, flattening-filter-free (FFF) 6MV (6 F) and FFF 10MV (10 F) photon beams with full and partial arc arrangements were generated and compared. The prescribed dose was 40Gy to the prostate with 25Gy to the PLN in 5 fractions.

Preparing for Value-Based Payment: A Stepwise Approach for Cancer Centers.

Most cancer centers are ill-equipped to pursue value-based payment (VBP) because of limited information on their population's cost of care. Herein, we outline the stepwise approach used by Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven in our pursuit of better value care. First, we addressed institutional barriers.

HIV incidence among gay men and other men who have sex with men in 2020: where is the epidemic heading?

The goal to effectively prevent new HIV infections among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) is more challenging now than ever before. Despite declines in the late 1990s and early 2000s, HIV incidence among MSM is now increasing in many low- and high-income settings including the US, with young, adolescent, and racial/ethnic minority MSM being among those at highest risk. Potentiating HIV risks across all settings are individual-, network-, and structural-level factors such as stigma and lack of access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral treatment as prevention.

The Prevalence of Sexual Behavior Stigma Affecting Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Across Sub-Saharan Africa and in the United States.

Background: There has been increased attention for the need to reduce stigma related to sexual behaviors among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) as part of comprehensive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment programming. However, most studies focused on measuring and mitigating stigma have been in high-income settings, challenging the ability to characterize the transferability of these findings because of lack of consistent metrics across settings.

Objective: The objective of these analyses is to describe the prevalence of sexual behavior stigma in the United States, and to compare the prevalence of sexual behavior stigma between MSM in Southern and Western Africa and in the United States using consistent metrics.

A casein hydrolysate protects mice against high fat diet induced hyperglycemia by attenuating NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation and improving insulin signaling.

Scope: Activation of the nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is required for IL-1β release and is a key component of obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. This study hypothesized that supplementation with a casein hydrolysate (CH) would attenuate NLRP3 inflammasome mediated IL-1β secretion in adipose tissue (AT) and improve obesity-induced insulin resistance.

Methods And Results: J774.

Effect of stable and fluctuating temperatures on the life history traits of Anopheles arabiensis and An. quadriannulatus under conditions of inter- and intra-specific competition.

Background: Constant and fluctuating temperatures influence important life-history parameters of malaria vectors which has implications for community organization and the malaria disease burden. The effects of environmental temperature on the hatch rate, survivorship and development rate of Anopheles arabiensis and An. quadriannulatus under conditions of inter- and intra-specific competition are studied.

Gender-based violence against female sex workers in Cameroon: prevalence and associations with sexual HIV risk and access to health services and justice.

Background/objectives: Female sex workers (FSWs) are at risk for HIV and physical and sexual gender-based violence (GBV). We describe the prevalence of lifetime GBV and its associations with HIV risk behaviour, access to health services and barriers in accessing justice among FSWs in Cameroon.

Methods: FSWs (n=1817) were recruited for a cross-sectional study through snowball sampling in seven cities in Cameroon.

How are tobacco smokers using e-cigarettes? Patterns of use, reasons for use and places of purchase in New South Wales.

Objectives: To explore how and why tobacco smokers and recent quitters in NSW use e-cigarettes, as well as common places of purchase.

Design: The Cancer Institute Tobacco Tracking Survey is a serial cross-sectional telephone survey, with 40 interviews in NSW each week.

Participants: 2966 tobacco smokers and recent quitters (in the past 12 months) interviewed January 2014 - June 2015.

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Capture by Cytochrome P450 3A4.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is the dominant P450 enzyme involved in human drug metabolism, and its inhibition may result in adverse interactions or, conversely, favorably reduce the systemic elimination rates of poorly bioavailable drugs. Herein we describe a spectroscopic investigation of the interaction of CYP3A4 with N-methylritonavir, an analog of ritonavir, widely used as a pharmacoenhancer. In contrast to ritonavir, the binding affinity of N-methylritonavir for CYP3A4 is pH-dependent.

Design, synthesis, and in vitro evaluation of a fluorescently labeled irreversible inhibitor of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKACα).

The design and development of irreversible kinase inhibitors is an expanding frontier of kinase drug discovery. The current approach to develop these inhibitors utilizes ATP-competitive inhibitor scaffolds to target non-catalytic cysteines in the kinase ATP-binding site. However, this approach is limited as not all kinases have a cysteine in the ATP-binding site that can be targeted.