Trends in Geographic Rates of HIV Diagnoses Among Black Females in the United States, 2010-2015.

Background: HIV diagnoses among females in the United States declined 22% from 2010 to 2015, including a 27% decline in diagnoses among black females. Despite this progress, disparities persist. Black females accounted for 60% of new HIV diagnoses among females in 2015.

Critical limb ischemia and its impact on patient health preferences and quality of life-an international study.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) has a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). Despite cost utility evaluations being required by different authorities, data on patient health preferences and utilities for CLI are scarce. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the impact of CLI on health preferences and health status of affected patients, and to generate health state utilities.

A human skin equivalent model that mimics the photoproduction of vitamin D3 in human skin.

A human skin equivalent was prepared by culturing human keratinocytes on the surface of nylon filtration meshes containing human skin fibroblasts and by growing the epidermal cells at the air-liquid interface. This human skin equivalent model was used to mimic the photoproduction of vitamin D3 in human skin. It was found that the concentration of 7-dehydrocholesterol and its photoconversion to previtamin D3 and its subsequent thermal isomerization to vitamin D3 in the human skin equivalent was essentially identical to that of human skin.

Control of hair growth with parathyroid hormone (7-34).

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) related peptide (PTHrP) is thought to influence the proliferation and differentiation of the epidermis and hair follicle. As a means of elucidating the biologic function of PTHrP on the hair follicle, a PTHrP analog PTH (7-34), which is a PTH/PTHrP receptor antagonist, was given intraperitoneally twice daily to C57 BL/6 mice at different stages of the hair cycle. PTH (7-34) induced 99 +/- 4.

Comparison of skeletal muscle laser Doppler flowmetry to changes in central hemodynamics in detecting the physiological response to moderate hemorrhage.

Previous studies have demonstrated that laser Doppler (LD) flowmetry is a useful technique for following changes in blood flow in a tissue bed, but the potential role of LD flowmetry in management of the critically ill patient is unclear. This study sought to establish the sensitivity of LD flowmetry compared to changes in centrally measured hemodynamic parameters in response to a mild hemorrhagic episode. In order to establish the correlation between LD flow and actual blood flow, livers from Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated and perfused via the portal vein with citrate anti-coagulated rat blood.

Transanal intracolonic pulse oximetry as a means of monitoring the adequacy of colonic perfusion.

Techniques for determining intraoperative compromise in colonic blood flow during aortic reconstruction are inadequate. We investigated the use of transanally recorded oxygen saturation in a porcine model. A Nellcor RS-10 reflectance pulse oximeter probe was attached to the balloon of a Foley catheter and passed transanally to record the oxygen saturation of the sigmoid colonic mucosa.

Changes in hepatocyte NADH fluorescence during prolonged hypoxia.

Deprivation of oxygen reduces oxidative phosphorylation and rapidly causes an increase in cellular NADH which can be monitored by fluorimetry. Previous studies have established that increases in NADH fluorescence accurately reflect the impairment in oxidative phosphorylation which occurs during brief periods of acute hypoxia. However, the potential usefulness of fluorimetry for following longer, clinically relevant periods of ischemia has not been explored.

The role of air plethysmography in monitoring results of venous surgery.

The development of an objective, noninvasive method to assess the hemodynamic effects of venous surgery has long been awaited. Previous methods used to evaluate the results of surgery for varicose veins and venous stasis ulceration have been limited in their quantitative assessment. Now, by use of air plethysmography (APG), we can accurately quantify the effectiveness of corrective venous surgery.