Racial/ethnic differences in the association between menthol cigarette use and mental illness among adults who smoke in the United States.

Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2012-2018) were used to characterize the association between menthol cigarette use and indicators of Any (AMI) and Serious (SMI) Mental Illness among adults who smoke in the United States. In general, people who smoke menthol cigarettes were more likely to have AMI (aOR = 1.123 [1.

What influences demand for cigars among African American adult cigar smokers? Results from a hypothetical purchase task.

African Americans (AA) have historically been targeted by the tobacco industry and have the highest rates of current cigar use among racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. Yet, there is limited evidence on other factors influencing cigar use.

Online Pro-Tobacco Marketing Exposure Is Associated With Dual Tobacco Product Use Among Underage US Students.

Purpose: To understand the effect of pro-tobacco marketing on electronic cigarette and combustible cigarette dual use among US middle and high school students under 18 years of age.

Design: Data were derived from the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey, an annual self-administered school-based cross-sectional survey.

Setting: The survey was administered in public and private middle and high schools across the United States.

Resistance Analysis of Bictegravir-Emtricitabine-Tenofovir Alafenamide in HIV-1 Treatment-Naive Patients through 48 Weeks.

In clinical studies GS-US-380-1489 (study 1489) and GS-US-380-1490 (study 1490), bictegravir-emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide (B-F-TAF), dolutegravir-abacavir-lamivudine (DTG-ABC-3TC), and dolutegravir plus emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide (DTG+F-TAF) treatment achieved high rates of virologic suppression in HIV-1 treatment-naive participants through week 48. Preexisting primary drug resistance was present at levels of 1.3% integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistance (INSTI-R), 2.

Health Behaviors and Lifestyle Interventions in African American Breast Cancer Survivors: A Review.

African American breast cancer survivors have a higher incidence of estrogen receptor negative and basal-like (e.g., triple negative) tumors, placing them at greater risk for poorer survival when compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups.

Switching to the single-tablet regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir DF from non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor plus coformulated emtricitabine and tenofovir DF regimens: Week 96 results of STRATEGY-NNRTI.

Background: HIV-1-infected, virologically suppressed adults wanting to simplify or change their non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimens may benefit from switching to the single-tablet regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (E/C/F/TDF).

Objective: We examined differences in the proportion of participants with HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL (Snapshot analysis), change in CD4 cell count, safety, and patient-reported outcomes in participants switching to E/C/F/TDF from an NNRTI + FTC/TDF (TVD) regimen.

Methods: STRATEGY-NNRTI was a 96-week, phase 3b, randomized, open-label, study examining the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of switching to E/C/F/TDF in virologically suppressed individuals (HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL) on an NNRTI + TVD regimen.

Protein Disulfide Levels and Lens Elasticity Modulation: Applications for Presbyopia.

Purpose: The purpose of the experiments described here was to determine the effects of lipoic acid (LA)-dependent disulfide reduction on mouse lens elasticity, to synthesize the choline ester of LA (LACE), and to characterize the effects of topical ocular doses of LACE on mouse lens elasticity.

Methods: Eight-month-old mouse lenses (C57BL/6J) were incubated for 12 hours in medium supplemented with selected levels (0-500 μM) of LA. Lens elasticity was measured using the coverslip method.

Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Tenofovir Alafenamide in HIV-Uninfected Subjects with Severe Renal Impairment.

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is an oral prodrug of tenofovir (TFV) that has greater stability in plasma than TFV disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and circulates as intact TAF, resulting in the direct and higher lymphatic loading of and exposure to TFV diphosphate, the active moiety. Unlike TFV, TAF is minimally eliminated in urine. The pharmacokinetics (PK) of TAF and TFV in HIV-uninfected subjects with severe renal impairment and matched healthy controls were evaluated.

Comparability of weight loss reporting after gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy using BOLD data 2008-2011.

Background: Weight loss after bariatric surgery is commonly reported as either a percentage of initial body weight (%IBW) or 100% minus %IBW which is a percentage of total weight loss (%TWL). These are basically equivalent expressions. Weight loss is also reported as %EWL or as a percentage of excess body mass index loss (%EBMIL).

Cobicistat-boosted darunavir in HIV-1-infected adults: week 48 results of a Phase IIIb, open-label single-arm trial.

Background: Cobicistat is an alternative pharmacoenhancer to ritonavir. In healthy volunteers, darunavir exposure was comparable when darunavir 800 mg once daily was co-administered with cobicistat 150 mg once daily (as single agents or a fixed-dose combination) vs. with ritonavir 100 mg once daily.

The clinical utility of bivalirudin in patients with coronary artery disease.

Bivalirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, is an anticoagulant commonly used in invasive cardiology procedures. It has evolved from relative obscurity, as an anticoagulation option only utilized in rare instances of allergy or resistance to heparin products, to the now preferred antithrombotic anticoagulant in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. On the way to displacing unfractionated heparin as the preferred anticoagulant for percutaneous coronary intervention, multiple studies comparing bivalirudin with heparin have consistently shown equivalent ischemic efficacy endpoints (i.

A simpler method for predicting weight loss in the first year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Factors postulated to predict weight loss after gastric bypass surgery, include race, age, gender, technique, height, and initial weight. This paper contained 1551 gastric bypass patients (85.9% female).

Alkalinized lidocaine and heparin provide immediate relief of pain and urgency in patients with interstitial cystitis.

Introduction: It has been reported in an open-label study that the combination of alkalinized lidocaine and heparin can immediately relieve the symptoms of urinary urgency, frequency, and pain associated with interstitial cystitis (IC). This combination has also been reported to relieve pain associated with sex in patients with IC.

Aim: The aim of this study was to corroborate these findings in a multicenter setting.

Percutaneous coronary artery stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery disease using drug-eluting stents: the initial Baylor University Medical Center experience.

Significant narrowing of the left main coronary artery is a high-risk condition with significant mortality risk. Bypass surgery is the current gold-standard treatment for unprotected left main (ULM) disease. Stenting utilizing drug-eluting stents (DES) is another therapeutic option for patients with ULM disease considered too high risk for bypass surgery or for patients who simply refuse bypass surgery.

The safety and effects of the beta-blocker, nadolol, in mild asthma: an open-label pilot study.

Beta-blockers are currently contraindicated in asthma because their acute administration may be associated with worsening bronchospasm. However, their effects and safety with their chronic administration are not well evaluated. The rationale for this pilot study was based on the paradigm shift that was observed with the use of beta-blockers in congestive heart failure, which once contraindicated because of their acute detrimental effects, have now been shown to reduce mortality with their chronic use.

Valve structure and survival in octogenarians having aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis (+/- aortic regurgitation) with versus without coronary artery bypass grafting at a single US medical center (1993 to 2005).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and valve structure on both early and late survival in octogenarians having aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis (AS) (with or without aortic regurgitation). Although a number of reports are available in octogenarians having AVR for AS, none have described aortic valve structure. Most have limited numbers of patients and few have described late results.

Anti-inflammatory effects of topical ocular MAXIDEX administration to rabbits following vitrectomy or lensectomy.

We conducted a series of surgical studies (n=155) to find out the possible utility of the Dutch Belted rabbits as an ocular test model. Following either vitrectomy (n=59) or lensectomy (n=96) studies using either BSS or BSS Plus, we characterized the corresponding magnitude and duration of inflammatory response of selected endpoints over a one-week period. Preoperative Dutch Belted rabbits served as controls for baseline determination (n=27).