Behavior science in the evolving world of digital health: considerations on anticipated opportunities and challenges.

Digital health promises to increase intervention reach and effectiveness for a range of behavioral health outcomes. Behavioral scientists have a unique opportunity to infuse their expertise in all phases of a digital health intervention, from design to implementation. The aim of this study was to assess behavioral scientists' interests and needs with respect to digital health endeavors, as well as gather expert insight into the role of behavioral science in the evolution of digital health.

Self-regulation and social behavior during sleep deprivation.

An emerging literature is specifically focusing on the effects of sleep deprivation on aspects of social functioning and underlying neural changes. Two critical facets of social behavior emerge that are negatively impacted by sleep deprivation-self-regulation, which includes behavioral and emotional regulation, and social monitoring, which includes perceiving and interpreting cues relating to self and others. Sleep deprived individuals performing tasks with social components show altered brain activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex implicated in self-control, inhibition, evaluation, and decision-making, in proximity to mesocorticolimbic pathways to reward and emotional processing areas.

Ex-vivo Imaging of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Using Novel pH Low Insertion Peptide (Variant 3), a Molecular Imaging Probe.

Objective: To improve visualization of upper tract urothelial carcinomas. Previous studies using the novel pH low insertion peptide (pHLIP) variant 3 (Var3) conjugated to indocyanine green (ICG) have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for imaging of bladder urothelial carcinoma. Here, we describe a novel approach for the imaging of upper tract urothelial carcinomas using ICG-Var3 pHLIP.

Remote assessments and behavioral interventions in post-bariatric surgery patients.

Sustained weight loss and health improvements after bariatric surgery require long-term monitoring and, for a significant minority of patients, postoperative intervention. Unfortunately, many patients demonstrate difficulty engaging in long-term follow-up and treatment due to time restrictions, geographic limitations, and financial burden. Conducting assessments and interventions remotely may help to mitigate these barriers, allowing for greater access to care and improved outcomes.

Non-communicable diseases and human rights: Global synergies, gaps and opportunities.

The incorporation of human rights in health policy and programmes is known to strengthen responses to health problems and help address disparities created or exacerbated by illness yet this remains underexplored in relation to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Aiming to understand existing synergies and how they might be further strengthened, we assessed the extent to which human rights are considered in global NCD policies and strategies and the degree of attention given to NCDs by select United Nations human rights mechanisms. Across global NCD policies and strategies, rhetorical assertions regarding human rights appear more often than actionable statements, thus limiting their implementation and impact.

Mass Forming Eosinophilic Cystitis in Pediatric Patients.

Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is an uncommon inflammatory disorder of uncertain etiology that has been described in adult and pediatric populations. We describe 3 recent cases of EC that presented as a mass lesion in pediatric patients from the New England region of the United States. All patients were initially suspected to have a malignancy, and biopsy was performed, which ultimately led to the diagnosis of EC.

Characterizing the Burden of Hepatitis C Infection Among Entrants to Pennsylvania State Prisons, 2004 to 2012.

Although hepatitis C (HCV) infection is common among prisoners, relatively few undergo evaluation for treatment. This study reports the prevalence of chronic infection and the genotype distribution among an incarcerated population. HCV antibody testing was provided to adults entering Pennsylvania prisons; confirmatory and genotype testing were offered to those eligible for treatment.

Structural and Functional Support in the Prediction of Smoking Cessation in Caregivers of Children with Asthma.

Caregivers of children with asthma smoke at rates similar to the general population. Research on the relative importance of structural or functional social support in smoking cessation has been mixed. Participants were smokers (N = 154) who were caregivers of children with asthma.

Isoniazid mediates the CYP2B6*6 genotype-dependent interaction between efavirenz and antituberculosis drug therapy through mechanism-based inactivation of CYP2A6.

Efavirenz is commonly used to treat patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis. Previous clinical studies have observed paradoxically elevated efavirenz plasma concentrations in patients with the CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype (but not the CYP2B6*1/*1 genotype) during coadministration with the commonly used four-drug antituberculosis therapy. This study sought to elucidate the mechanism underlying this genotype-dependent drug-drug interaction.

Skeletal muscle atrophy in bioengineered skeletal muscle: a new model system.

Skeletal muscle atrophy has been well characterized in various animal models, and while certain pathways that lead to disuse atrophy and its associated functional deficits have been well studied, available drugs to counteract these deficiencies are limited. An ex vivo tissue-engineered skeletal muscle offers a unique opportunity to study skeletal muscle physiology in a controlled in vitro setting. Primary mouse myoblasts isolated from adult muscle were tissue engineered into bioartificial muscles (BAMs) containing hundreds of aligned postmitotic muscle fibers expressing sarcomeric proteins.

The impacts of AIDS movements on the policy responses to HIV/AIDS in Brazil and South Africa: a comparative analysis.

Brazil and South Africa were among the first countries profoundly impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and had similar rates of HIV infection in the early 1990s. Today, Brazil has less than 1% adult HIV prevalence, implemented treatment and prevention programmes early in the epidemic, and now has exemplary HIV/AIDS programmes. South Africa, by contrast, has HIV prevalence of 18% and was, until recently, infamous for its delayed and inappropriate response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Family Sources of Sexual Health Information, Primary Messages, and Sexual Behavior of At-Risk, Urban Adolescents.

Background: Sources of sexual health information exert strong influence on adolescents' sexual behavior.

Purpose: The current study was undertaken to understand how family serve as sexual information sources, the messages adolescents recall from family, and how family learning experiences affect sexual behavior among at-risk adolescents.

Methods: Individual interviews were conducted with 69 teens, ages 15-18 years, from an alternative high school and a juvenile correctional facility to capture adolescents' early sexual health learning experiences involving family and evaluate their association with teens' recent sexual behavior.

Meta-analysis of the association between cigarette smoking and incidence of Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Introduction: Previous studies have suggested a relationship between smoking and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). The main objective of this study was to evaluate this potential association with a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Patients And Methods: A literature search was undertaken through December 2010 looking for observational studies evaluating the association between smoking and HL.

Ecological momentary assessment of recommended postoperative eating and activity behaviors.

Background: Successful weight loss after bariatric surgery depends on the patient's adherence to prescribed eating and physical activity behaviors. However, few studies have assessed patients' adherence to the behavioral recommendations and most have used retrospective self-report measures. The present study is the first to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via a palmtop computer to assess bariatric surgery patients' eating and activity behaviors in real-time in the natural environment.

Risk perception in smokers with children with asthma.

Objective: No studies have examined the relationship between caregiver beliefs about the risks of smoking to their own health and caregiver beliefs about the effect of their smoking on their child's health. In the current study, we investigated our proposed risk congruence hypothesis among caregivers who smoke. Specifically, we investigated whether caregivers' self-perceived risk of smoking is directly associated with their perception of the risks of smoking to their child.

Risk perception and smoking behavior in medically ill smokers: a prospective study.

Aims: To examine the influence of risk perception on intentions to quit smoking and post-treatment abstinence.

Design: Prospective and longitudinal.

Setting: United States.

Dose adjustment of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors during concurrent rifampicin-containing tuberculosis therapy: one size does not fit all.

Importance Of The Field: HIV/tuberculosis (TB) co-infection is common and associated with high mortality. Simultaneous highly active antiretroviral therapy during TB treatment is associated with substantial survival benefit but drug-drug interactions complicate NNRTI dosing.

Areas Covered In This Review: We reviewed the impact of rifampicin-containing TB therapy on the NNRTIs pharmacokinetics and clinical outcome.