HIV risk behavior among injection drug users in Tehran, Iran.

Aims: Iran faces parallel human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and injection drug use epidemics; more than 62% of known HIV cases occur among injection drug users (IDU). We conducted a formative study of IDU in Tehran to explore risk behavior in the wake of the recent harm reduction efforts.

Participants And Design: Key informant interviews (n = 40), focus group discussions (nine groups of IDU, n = 66) and a review of existing published and unpublished literature were conducted.

The epidemiology of HIV and AIDS in the world.

The worldwide epidemic of HIV continues to expand in many regions of the world, particularly in southern Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Estimates are that at the end of 2005 there were 38.6 million persons living with HIV infection and that 4.

Prevalence, incidence and mortality associated with tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in rural Uganda.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) may reduce the burden of TB, but to what extent is unknown.

Methods: In a study of 1044 adults who initiated home-based ART in Tororo, Uganda between 1 May 2003 and 30 June 2005, participants were screened for active TB at baseline and then monitored at weekly home visits.

Impact of large-angle scattering on diffusively backscattered halos.

We discuss the impact of large-angle scattering events in highly forward-scattering media on the spatial distribution of the diffusively reflected light. We show that, even for highly forward-scattering media, the reflected light near the incident beam axis is strongly dependent on the small number of large-angle scattering events. Reliable modeling of near-axis reflection thus requires accurate knowledge of the scattering phase function's behavior at large angles.

The public health need and present status of a vaccine for the prevention of coccidioidomycosis.

Although the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis has been well described, there is a paucity of recent data on the public health burden associated with this disease. Accordingly, California's Inpatient Hospital Discharge Data Set from 1997 to 2002 was used to calculate the incidence of hospitalization for coccidioidomycosis by county, year, age, race, ethnicity, and gender. The overall finding that coccidioidomycosis has a significant impact in endemic areas supports the conclusion that the need for a preventive vaccine is great.

Antiretroviral post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for occupational HIV exposure.

Background: Populations such as healthcare workers (HCWs), injection drug users (IDUs), and people engaging in unprotected sex are all at risk of being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Animal models show that after initial exposure, HIV replicates within dendritic cells of the skin and mucosa before spreading through lymphatic vessels and developing into a systemic infection (CDC 2001). This delay in systemic spread leaves a "window of opportunity" for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) using antiretroviral drugs designed to block replication of HIV (CDC 2001).

Thyroid function and perchlorate in drinking water: an evaluation among California newborns, 1998.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) has been detected in groundwater sources in numerous communities in California and other parts of the United States, raising concerns about potential impacts on health. For California communities where ClO4- was tested in 1997 and 1998, we evaluated the prevalence of primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) and high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels among the 342,257 California newborns screened in 1998. We compared thyroid function results among newborns from 24 communities with average ClO4- concentrations in drinking water>5 microg/L (n=50,326) to newborns from 287 communities with average concentrations View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine combination therapy for treatment of HIV infection and AIDS in adults.

Background: A favourable regimen for people infected with HIV/AIDS is one that provides optimal efficacy, durability of antiretroviral activity, tolerability, and has low adverse effects and drug-drug interactions. The combination of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor nevirapine (NVP), and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, stavudine (d4T) and lamivudine (3TC), is widely used as first-line therapy, especially in low-resource countries. Analysis of the efficacy, durability and tolerability of the regimen is thus important to clinicians, consumers and policy-makers living in both rich and poor countries.

The role of BCG in prevention of leprosy: a meta-analysis.

The present meta-analysis investigates the role of BCG-a widely used yet controversial vaccine-in the prevention of leprosy. The electronic databases Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and LILACS were searched to identify studies assessing the protective effect of BCG against leprosy. We included seven experimental studies and 19 observational studies.

An archived lot of coccidioidin induces specific coccidioidal delayed-type hypersensitivity and correlates with in vitro assays of coccidioidal cellular immune response.

No test for assessing cellular immune response in coccidioidomycosis is currently available in the United States. In the present study, we tested 49 healthy subjects living in the coccidioidal endemic region with a 1:55.8 dilution of a single lot of coccidioidin archived since the 1970s.

A meta-analysis of the effect of high weight on asthma.

Background: Prevalence rates for both overweight and asthma have been increasing among children in developed countries over the past two decades. Some recent studies have postulated a causal relation between these but have lacked power to form a definitive conclusion.

Aim: To estimate the effect of high body weight in childhood on the future risk of asthma.

Changes in sexual behavior and risk of HIV transmission after antiretroviral therapy and prevention interventions in rural Uganda.

Background: The impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on sexual risk behavior and HIV transmission among HIV-infected persons in Africa is unknown.

Objective: To assess changes in risky sexual behavior and estimated HIV transmission from HIV-infected adults after 6 months of ART.

Design And Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed in rural Uganda.

Antifungal interventions for the primary prevention of cryptococcal disease in adults with HIV.

Background: Cryptococcal disease is an opportunistic infection that causes significant morbidity and mortality in adults with HIV. Primary prophylaxis with antifungal interventions may decrease cryptococcal disease incidence and associated mortality.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of antifungal interventions for the primary prevention of cryptococcal disease in adults with HIV.

Potential deterrent effect of name-based HIV infection surveillance.

To meet federal recommendations to collect case reports of HIV infection, California has adopted a non-name code system to conduct HIV surveillance. The objective of this study was to evaluate among HIV test takers the acceptability and preferences for the 3 major types of HIV infection reporting-name, name-to-code, and non-name code. Interviewer-administered exit surveys with spoken scripts and matching printed materials clearly outlining the 3 HIV reporting options were conducted among HIV test takers immediately following appointments for pretest HIV counseling and blood collection.

Pediatric acute lung injury: prospective evaluation of risk factors associated with mortality.

Rationale: The 1994 American European Consensus Committee definitions of acute lung injury (ALI) and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have not been applied systematically in the pediatric population.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate prospectively the epidemiology and clinical risk factors associated with death and prolonged mechanical ventilation in all pediatric patients admitted to two large, pediatric intensive care units with ALI/ARDS using Consensus criteria.

Methods: All pediatric patients meeting Consensus Committee definitions for ALI were prospectively identified and included in a relational database.

Population-based interventions for reducing sexually transmitted infections, including HIV infection.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) are common in developing countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that in 1999, 340 million new cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydial infection and trichomoniasis occurred. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is also common in developing countries.

A systemic gene silencing method suitable for high throughput, reverse genetic analyses of gene function in fern gametophytes.

Background: Ceratopteris richardii is a useful experimental system for studying gametophyte development and sexual reproduction in plants. However, few tools for cloning mutant genes or disrupting gene function exist for this species. The feasibility of systemic gene silencing as a reverse genetics tool was examined in this study.

A matched case-control study evaluating the effectiveness of speed humps in reducing child pedestrian injuries.

Objectives: We evaluated the protective effectiveness of speed humps in reducing child pedestrian injuries in residential neighborhoods.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study over a 5-year period among children seen in a pediatric emergency department after being struck by an automobile.

Results: A multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis showed that speed humps were associated with lower odds of children being injured within their neighborhood (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.

Imaging in turbid media using modulation frequency scanning.

We propose an imaging scheme to detect an object inside a turbid medium using intensity modulated waves as a probe. We show how the new degree of freedom represented by the modulation frequency allows sufficient control to reconstruct the image from the scattered wave signal.

Three- or four- versus two-drug antiretroviral maintenance regimens for HIV infection.

Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy administered to HIV-infected individuals has been shown to decrease viral replication, improve immunologic function and delay the progression of HIV infection. However, because patient adherence to complicated combination-therapy antiretroviral regimens is difficult and because of concerns regarding the cumulative toxicity of antiretroviral drugs, regimens that utilize fewer antiretroviral agents are desirable.

Objectives: To compare the use three- or four- versus two-drug antiretroviral maintenance regimens following successful initial therapy for HIV infection.

Primary congenital hypothyroidism, newborn thyroid function, and environmental perchlorate exposure among residents of a Southern California community.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether there were higher rates of primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) or elevated concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in a community where perchlorate was detected in groundwater wells. The adjusted PCH prevalence ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) comparing the study community to San Bernardino and Riverside counties combined was 0.45 (95% CI=0.