Clinical assessment of the fetal right Quantitative Lung Index.

Objectives: We have previously described gestational-age-independent sonographic indices to assess fetal lung size in the right and left lungs: The Quantitative Lung Index for the right lung (QLI-R) and for the left lung (QLI-L), respectively. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical cutoff point of the QLI-R to predict pulmonary hypoplasia and neonatal death.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective assessment of the QLI-R in patients with left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH-L) and other fetal conditions at risk for fetal pulmonary hypoplasia.

Tibolone regulates systemic metabolism and the expression of sex hormone receptors in the central nervous system of ovariectomised rats fed with high-fat and high-fructose diet.

Estrogen replacement therapy decreases some risk factors of the metabolic syndrome but increases the risk of some types of cancer. Tibolone (TIB) has shown similar neuroprotective effects as estrogens. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of TIB on metabolic parameters and the expression of sex hormone receptors in the CNS in ovariectomised rats fed with a hypercaloric diet.

Over-the-counter but out of reach: a pharmacy-based survey of OTC syringe sales in Tijuana, Mexico.

Sterile syringe access is critical to HIV prevention efforts targeting injection drug users (IDUs) but some pharmacies do not sell syringes over-the-counter (OTC) even where such sales are legal. We conducted a pharmacy survey in Tijuana, Mexico (where OTC sales are legal) to characterize attitudes toward syringe sales and to explore support for expanding pharmacy-based HIV prevention efforts. Of 203 respondents, 28% supported OTC syringe sales to IDUs and 74% said their pharmacy required a prescription for at least some syringe sales.

The use of 2D and 3D information in a perceptual-cognitive judgement task.

We examined whether the use of three-dimensional (3D) simulations in an off-field offside decision-making task is beneficial compared to the more widely available two-dimensional (2D) simulations. Thirty-three assistant referees, who were all involved in professional football, participated in the experiment. They assessed 40 offside situations in both 2D and 3D formats using a counterbalanced design.

Cigarette-Smoking Intensity and Interferon-Gamma Release Assay Conversion among Persons Who Inject Drugs: A Cohort Study.

We analyzed data from a longitudinal cohort study of persons who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana, Mexico, to explore whether cigarette smoking increases the risk of interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) conversion. PWID were recruited using respondent driven sampling (RDS). QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) assay conversion was defined as interferon-gamma concentrations <0.

Negotiating access: social barriers to purchasing syringes at pharmacies in Tijuana, Mexico.

Background: One common public health response to the emergence of HIV has been the provision of sterile syringes to people who inject drugs. In Mexico specialized syringe exchanges are rare, and the sale of needles through pharmacies is often the only way people who inject drugs can obtain sterile syringes. However, people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico report considerable social barriers to successfully purchasing syringes at pharmacies.

Identifying the HIV transmission bridge: which men are having unsafe sex with female sex workers and with their own wives or steady partners?

Objective: To gain insights into bridging behaviors and their correlates among male clients of female sex workers (FSWs).

Methods: Men aged ≥18 years who recently paid or traded for sex with FSWs were recruited in Tijuana in 2008-2009. Participants underwent interviews and testing for HIV, chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea.

"Injection first": a unique group of injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Using baseline data from a study of injection drug users (IDUs) in Tijuana, Mexico (N = 1,052), we identified social and behavioral factors associated with injecting at the same age or earlier than other administration routes of illicit drug use (eg, "injection first") and examined whether this IDU subgroup had riskier drug using and sexual behaviors than other IDUs. Twelve-percent "injected first." Characteristics independently associated with a higher odds of "injection first" included being younger at first injection, injecting heroin as their first drug, being alone at the first injection episode, and having a sexual debut at the same age or earlier as when they initiated drug use; family members' illicit drug use was associated with lower odds of injecting first.

Not sold here: limited access to legally available syringes at pharmacies in Tijuana, Mexico.

Background: Sterile syringe access is a critical component of HIV prevention programs. Although retail pharmacies provide convenient outlets for syringe access, injection drug users (IDUs) may encounter barriers to syringe purchase even where purchase without a prescription is legal. We sought to obtain an objective measure of syringe access in Tijuana, Mexico, where IDUs report being denied or overcharged for syringes at pharmacies.

"Over here, it's just drugs, women and all the madness": The HIV risk environment of clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico.

HIV vulnerability depends upon social context. Based on broader debates in social epidemiology, political economy, and sociology of health, Rhodes' (2002) "risk environment" framework provides one heuristic for understanding how contextual features influence HIV risk, through different types of environmental factors (social, economic, policy, and physical) which interact at different levels of influence (micro, macro). Few data are available on the "risk environment" of male clients of female sex workers (FSWs); such men represent a potential "bridge" for transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections from high- to low-prevalence populations.

How important are venue-based HIV risks among male clients of female sex workers? A mixed methods analysis of the risk environment in nightlife venues in Tijuana, Mexico.

In 2008, 400 males ≥18 years old who paid or traded for sex with a female sex worker (FSW) in Tijuana, Mexico, in the past 4 months completed surveys and HIV/STI testing; 30 also completed qualitative interviews. To analyze environmental sources of HIV vulnerability among male clients of FSWs in Tijuana, we used mixed methods to investigate correlates of clients who met FSWs in nightlife venues and clients' perspectives on venue-based HIV risk. Logistic regression identified micro-level correlates of meeting FSWs in nightlife venues, which were triangulated with clients' narratives regarding macro-level influences.

HIV prevalence and sexual risk behaviour among non-injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Unlabelled: Prior studies estimate HIV prevalence of 4% among injection drug users (IDUs), compared with 0.8% in the general population of Tijuana, Mexico. However, data on HIV prevalence and correlates among non-injecting drug users (NIDUs) are sparse.

Correlates of seeking injection assistance among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Assisted injection among injection drug users (IDUs) remains understudied. We recruited 1,056 IDUs using respondent-driven sampling in Tijuana, Mexico. Participants underwent HIV and syphilis testing and structured interviews.

A comparison of registered and unregistered female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico.

Objective: Sex work is regulated in Tijuana, Mexico, but only half of the city's female sex workers (FSWs) are registered with the municipal health department, which requires regular screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We examined correlates of registration to determine if it confers measurable health benefits.

Methods: From 2004 to 2006, we interviewed FSWs in Tijuana > or = 18 years of age who reported recent unprotected sex with at least one client and were not knowingly HIV-positive, and tested them for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.

High prevalence of abscesses and self-treatment among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Background: Soft tissue infections are common among injection drug users (IDUs), but information on correlates and treatment in this highly marginalized population is lacking.

Methods: Six hundred twenty-three community-recruited IDUs in Tijuana, Mexico, completed a detailed interview on abscess history and treatment. Univariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to identify factors independently associated with having an abscess in the prior 6 months.

Barriers to pharmacy-based syringe purchase among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico: a mixed methods study.

Injection drug users (IDUs) may be denied purchase of sterile syringes even where purchase without a prescription is legal. This study examined barriers to over-the-counter (OTC) syringe purchase among IDUs in Tijuana, Mexico. A quantitative survey and subsequent focus groups were used to quantify barriers to purchase, identify their correlates and provide in-depth exploration of syringe purchase experiences.

Correlates of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and associated high-risk behaviors among male clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico.

Objectives: To determine sociodemographic and behavioral correlates of HIV infection among male clients of female sex workers (FSWs) in Tijuana.

Methods: Four hundred men aged 18 years or older who had paid or traded for sex with a FSW in Tijuana during the past 4 months were recruited in Tijuana's 'zone of tolerance,' where prostitution is practiced openly under a municipal permit system. Efforts were made to balance the sample between residents of the United States (San Diego County) and of Mexico (Tijuana).

The harm inside: injection during incarceration among male injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Limited access to sterile syringes and condoms in correctional facilities make these settings high risk environments for HIV transmission. Although incarceration among injection drug users (IDUs) is common, there is limited information regarding specific IDU risk behaviors inside. We examined correlates of incarceration, injection inside and syringe sharing inside among male IDUs recruited in Tijuana, Mexico, using respondent driven sampling (RDS) (n=898).