Female injection drug users (IDUs) represent a large proportion of persons infected with HIV in the United States, and women who inject drugs have a high incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and ...hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of gender in injection risk behavior and the transmission of blood-borne virus. In 2000-2002, 844 young (<30 years old) IDUs were surveyed in San Francisco. We compared self-reported risk behavior between 584 males and 260 female participants from cross-sectional baseline data. We used logistic regression to determine whether demographic, structural, and relationship variables explained increased needle borrowing, drug preparation equipment sharing, and being injected by another IDU among females compared to males. Females were significantly younger than males and were more likely to engage in needle borrowing, ancillary equipment sharing, and being injected by someone else. Females were more likely than males to report recent sexual intercourse and to have IDU sex partners. Females and males were not different with respect to education, race/ethnicity, or housing status. In logistic regression models for borrowing a used needle and sharing drug preparation equipment, increased risk in females was explained by having an injection partner who was also a sexual partner. Injecting risk was greater in the young female compared to male IDUs despite equivalent frequency of injecting. Overlapping sexual and injection partnerships were a key factor in explaining increased injection risk in females. Females were more likely to be injected by another IDU even after adjusting for years injecting, being in a relationship with another IDU, and other potential confounders. Interventions to reduce sexual and injection practices that put women at risk of contracting hepatitis and HIV are needed.
We sought to identify prevalence and predictors of heroin-related overdose among young injection drug users (IDU).
A total of 795 IDU under age of 30 years were interviewed in four neighbourhoods in ...San Francisco, California, USA. Participants were recruited as part of a broader study of HIV, hepatitis B and C among injecting drug users in San Francisco using street outreach and snowball techniques. Independent predictors of recent heroin overdose requiring intervention were determined using regression analysis.
Of 795 injecting drug users under age of 30 years, 22% (174/795) of participants reported a heroin overdose in the last year. In stepwise multiple logistic regression, independent predictors of recent heroin overdose were lifetime incarceration exceeding 20 months (odds ratio (OR)
=
2.99, 95% confidence interval (CI)
=
1.52–5.88); heroin injection in the last 3 months (OR
=
4.89, 95% CI
=
2.03–11.74); cocaine injection in the last 3 months (OR
=
1.67, 95% CI
=
1.14–2.45); injection of heroin mixed with methamphetamine in the last 3 months (OR
=
1.74, 95% CI
=
1.15–2.65); ever tested for hepatitis B or C (OR
=
1.66 per year, CI
=
1.09–2.54) and ever having witnessed another person overdose (OR
=
2.89, 95% CI
=
1.76–4.73).
Individuals with high levels of incarceration are at great risk of overdose, and prison or jail should be considered a primary intervention site. Further research on the role of cocaine and amphetamine in heroin-related overdose is indicated.
Young injection drug users (IDUs) in San Francisco may be at high risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection despite access to several needle exchange venues. The authors conducted a cross-sectional ...study from 1997 to 1999 in San Francisco to estimate the prevalence and incidence of antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) among street-recruited IDUs under age 30, and to examine risk behaviors and sources of sterile needles. Among 308 participants, the prevalence of anti-HCV was 45%. Using statistical modeling, incidence of HCV infection was estimated to be 11 per 100 person years. Independent risk factors for anti-HCV included age (odds ratio OR, 1.17 per year; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.05-1.30), years injecting (OR, 1.21 per year; 95% CI, 1.10-1.34), years in San Francisco (OR, 1.06 per year; 95% CI, 1.00-1.14), first injected by a sex partner (OR, 4.06; 95% CI, 1.74-9.52), injected daily (OR, 3.85; 95% CI, 2.07-7.17), ever borrowed a needle (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.18-5.53), bleached last time a needle was borrowed (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.24-1.02), snorted or smoked drugs in the prior year (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.26-0.89), and injected by someone else in the prior month (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.25-0.99). In the prior month, 88% used at least 1 of several needle exchange venues, and 32% borrowed a needle. We conclude that anti-HCV prevalence is lower than in previous studies of older IDUs, but 11% incidence implies high risk of HCV infection in a long injecting career. Despite access to sterile needles, borrowing of needles persisted. (HEPATOLOGY 2001;34:180-187.)
After decades of decline, the incidence of tuberculosis in the United States began to increase in 1986, resulting in 52,000 excess cases by 1992
1
. New York City accounted for 14 percent of all ...cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 1992; the number of cases reported in the city has increased by over 150 percent since 1979
2
. This increase has been especially dramatic among minorities and in specific areas.
The increase in tuberculosis has been attributed to coinfection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
3
,
4
deterioration of the public health infrastructure,
5
social disruption including homelessness and drug . . .
Growth factors provide key instructive cues for tissue formation and repair. However, many natural growth factors are limited in their usefulness for tissue engineering and regenerative applications ...by their poor retention at desired sites of action, short half-lives in vivo, pleiotropic actions and other features. In the present article, we review approaches to rational design of synthetic growth factors based on mechanisms of receptor activation. Such synthetic molecules can function as simplified ligands with potentially tunable specificity and action. Rational and combinatorial protein engineering techniques allow introduction of additional features into these synthetic growth molecules, as well as natural growth factors, which significantly enhance their therapeutic utility.
As zoos have sought to further their conservation missions, they have become powerful providers of environmental education. Outside of “formal” education initiatives, such as those designed for ...school and other organized groups, or structured public talks programmes, much of the learning potential that the zoo has to offer is around the viewing of animals and the response of visitors to them. In this, zoo learning is a very personal construct, develops from the previous knowledge, and experiences and motivations of each individual. In this article, we make the assertion that learning potential, although difficult to quantify, is very much related to the attractiveness of animal species and the interest that visitors show in them. Using standard behaviorist measures of attraction and interest (the proportion of visitors that stop and for how long), we analyzed the relative interest in 40 zoo species held in a modern UK zoo and the variables that are significant in predicting that popularity. Further to this, the suggestion is made that the zoo collection planning process could use such information to make more informed decisions about which species should be housed for their educational value. Taxonomic grouping was found to be the most significant predictor of visitor interest—that is, visitors were far more interested in mammals than any other group—although body size (length), increasing animal activity and whether the species was the primary or “flagship” species in an exhibit or not, were all found to have a significant bearing on visitor interest. Zoo Biol 29:715-731, 2010.
Campaigns by zoos, aquariums, and other civil society organizations are an important tool for promoting social changes that benefit the environment. Here, we evaluate a global biodiversity education ...campaign's impact through a repeated-measures survey of nearly 5000 visitors to 20 zoos and aquariums located in 14 countries. By comparing visitors' pre- and post-visit responses combined across respondents, we found significant aggregate improvements in their biodiversity understanding and their knowledge of actions to help protect biodiversity. Respondents who reported seeing the education campaign's interpretive graphic panels and informative films showed a significantly higher aggregate increase in their understanding of biodiversity and actions to protect it as compared to respondents who did not see the campaign materials. These findings reaffirm the value of education at zoos and aquariums to engage members of the public with biodiversity-related issues. The results also demonstrate that the aggregate impact from such experiences can be enhanced through coordinated public engagement initiatives.
Zoos and aquaria were founded in a world fundamentally different from today, and yet, the need for such conservation organisations could not be stronger. We are currently in a climate and ...biodiversity crisis, with unprecedented species loss, exacerbated by human actions. The mission of many conservation zoos is to prevent such extinctions through integrated species conservation actions. The role of zoos has historically been categorised as fitting within the four pillars of conservation, education, research, and recreation. These ‘pillars’ no longer align with present day conservation zoos which provide a vast spectrum of services for species and society. However, in the absence of a new model, the value of zoos has been underestimated and under-supported. We propose a new model and assessment framework for viewing conservation zoos, with the zoo at the centre of a web of conservation and societal activities. We acknowledge zoos' potential as conservation hubs able to provide advice and skills to communities and policy makers. We also reflect on the criticisms and conservation challenges faced by zoos which may prevent them fulfilling their full potential and how these might impact their future role.
•We discuss conservation zoos' role in modern society, presenting global perspectives and considering problems and challenges.•We present a new holistic model of zoos’ sphere of influence, to replace the no-longer fit-for-purpose Conway (1969) model.•We suggest an assessment matrix (with planned online tool) to enable zoos to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and bradykinin receptor B
2
(B
2
R) genetic variation may affect thirst because of effects on angiotensin II production and bradykinin activity, respectively. To ...examine this, 45 healthy Caucasian men completed 60 min of cycle exercise at 62% ± 5% peak oxygen uptake in a room heated to 30.5 ± 0.3 °C with ad libitum fluid intake. Blood samples were collected pre-, mid-, and immediately post-cycle. Fluid intake, body mass loss (BML), sweat loss (determined via changes in body mass and fluid intake), and thirst sensation were recorded. All participants were genotyped for the ACE insert fragment (I) and the B
2
R insert sequence (P). Participants were homozygous for the wild-type allele (WW or MM), heterozygous (WI or MP) or homozygous for the insert (II or PP). No differences between genotype groups were found in mean (±SD) voluntary fluid intake (WW: 613 ± 388, WI: 753 ± 385, II: 862 ± 421 mL, p = 0.31; MM: 599 ± 322, MP: 745 ± 374, PP: 870 ± 459 mL, p = 0.20), percentage BML or any other fluid balance variables for both the ACE and B
2
R genes, respectively. Mean thirst perception in the B
2
R PP group, however, was higher (p < 0.05) than both MM and MP at 30, 45, and 60 min. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that voluntary fluid intake and fluid balance in healthy men performing 60 min of moderate-intensity exercise in the heat are not predominantly influenced by ACE or B
2
R genetic variation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Heroin-related overdose is the single largest cause of accidental death in San Francisco. We examined demographic, location, nontoxicological, and toxicological characteristics of opiate overdose ...deaths in San Francisco, California. Medical examiner's case files for every opioid-positive death from July 1, 1997, to June 30, 2000, were reviewed and classified as overdose deaths or other. Demographic variables were compared to two street-based studies of heroin users and to census data. From 1997 to 2000, of all heroin-related overdoses in San Francisco, 47% occurred in low-income residential hotels; 36% occurred in one small central area of the city. In 68% of deaths, the victim was reportedly alone. When others were present between last ingestion of heroin and death, appropriate responses were rare. In three cases, police arrested the person who called emergency services or others present on the scene. We recommend the development of overdose response training targeted at heroin users and those close to them, including the staff of residential hotels.
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