Relationship between Perception of Individual Susceptibility and Barriers to Treatment Action in Scabies Patients

Background: Scabies is found in crowded residential areas such as orphanages, dormitories, prisons, and Islamic boarding schools. In 2017, it was reported that scabies was among the 15 most common types of skin infections in Sumenep District, which reported 12,229 cases of scabies. Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relationship between the perception of individual susceptibility and barriers to treatment action in scabies patients at the Nasy’atul Muta’alimin Islamic Boarding School, Sumenep District, East Java. Methods: This research was an observational analytic study using a case-control design. The study population was patients with scabies in Nasy’atul Mutaalimin Islamic Boarding School, Sumenep District, East Java. The sample size was 70 people, consisting of 35 scabies patients who did not seek treatment as a case group and 35 scabies patients who did seek treatment as a control group. The sampling method used was simple random sampling. The two independent variables studied were the perception of individual susceptibility and barriers to treatment, while the dependent variable was treatment measures. The data analysis techniques employed were univariate and bivariate analysis. Results: This study shows that there are variables that have a relationship (p < 0.05) with the perception of individual susceptibility (OR = 99.00 95% CI 17.85 < OR < 548.86) and perceived barriers (OR = 29.00 95%, CI 7.968 < OR < 105.55). Conclusion: There is a relationship between the perception of individual susceptibility and barriers to treatment action in scabies patients.

An overview of fish disease and parasite occurrence in the cage culture of Oreochromis niloticus: A case study in Lake Victoria, Kenya

Cage aquaculture has been on a steady rise in Lake Victoria, Kenya, since 2016, resulting in the current culturing of over 3,600 cages of Tilapia (O. niloticus) (Orina et al., 2018). Unfortunately, there has been limited, if any, focus on fish health aspects. Rise in intensification and commercialization predisposes fish stocks to disease due to rise in stress levels and consequent reduction in the fish immunity. Nutrient rich surroundings create a conducive environment for rapid proliferation of bacterial and saprophytic fungal growth leading to net clogging and consequently a low biological oxygen demand. Such conditions predispose the stocks to infections. This study was conducted to provide a baseline analysis of the health conditions/status of the cultured fish in this region. It encompassed studies from 2016 to 2018 on tilapia of the genus O. niloticus using both experimental (using standard procedures and protocols) and socio-economic studies (using structured questionnaires, see annexure 1). Results found the following occurrences; bacterial infections (10%), fungal infestations (12.5%), myxosporean parasites in the gills (5%), parasitic copepods (10%) and fin rot (2.5%) in the stocks. There were no significant differences between abiotic parameters in the cage locations and the wild (p &gt; 0.05). Additionally, 90% of the respondents had no fish disease training or clue on the treatment action necessary whenever fish diseases struck. Findings from this study put to the fore the significance of fish diseases in a cage culture system in light of commercialization of the industry and the importance of biosecurity and maintenance of optimal environmental conditions within the scope of Blue Economy growth in this region. This study did not detect any disease or parasite of zoonotic importance.

Evaluation of Biorational Insecticides as Stand-alone Treatments for the Management of the Pigweed Flea Beetle, Disonycha glabrata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in Organic Production of Amaranthus spp.

The pigweed flea beetle, Disonycha glabrata, is the most damaging insect pest on Amaranthus spp. in the Piedmont zone of North Carolina (NC), United States. It is capable of causing severe yield loss on amaranth greens if uncontrolled. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons (Summer 2017 and 2018) in Greensboro, NC, to evaluate OMRI-approved biorational insecticides against D. glabrata in organic amaranth production. Insecticides evaluated included Azatin&reg; O (azadiractin), Ecotec&reg; (oils: rosemary, peppermint and geraniol), Entrust&reg; (spinosad) and PyGanic&reg; (pyrethrins) as stand-alone threshold-driven treatments applied at recommended label rates. Insecticide treatment action threshold (AT) was 2 (on a scale of 5) representing 20-40% leaf damage. The efficacy of the insecticides against D. glabrata population differed significantly within the amaranth varieties in comparison to their respective controls: treatments with Entrust&reg; and PyGanic&reg; on Green Callaloo and Red Leaf recorded 80% reduction in beetle population while Ecotec&reg; gave only a 15% beetle reduction. The Azatin&reg; O treatments recorded the highest D. glabrata population, sometimes greater than the control. Marketable fresh leaf yield from both Green Callaloo and Red Leaf amaranth was highest in the Entrust&reg; and PyGanic&reg; treatments. Hopi Red-Dye and Molten Fire amaranths showed some resistance to beetle damage; they are also intrinsically low yielding. These findings provide information that would make organic amaranth production possible with only limited and safe insecticide input using OMRI-approved insecticides in a threshold-driven manner, an important step towards the sustainable management of D. glabrata and amaranth production.

Cannabidiol in dentistry: a scoping review

The CBD has many reports of pharmacological effects in various models of pathologies, ranging from inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, schizophrenia among others (1). In other medical areas has been developing CBD as great therapeutic possibilities, with much research in pre-clinical phases (laboratory tests), reviews about complex diseases of the oral cavity (2) and expression of endocannabinoids receptors in the dental and periodontal tissues (3,4). However, the use of CBD in the dental field has been poorly studied and limited, and its effects in the treatment of oral diseases are not well known and reported. Similarly, knowing its properties, mechanisms of action and favorable results in the treatment of other oral diseases, it is believed that it may have a positive therapeutic effect in some pathologies of CBD therapeutic dentistry based on scientific publications that discuss its mechanism of treatment action, suggesting possibilities for future investigations on the use of this compound in dentistry in previous years. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review will be to map the available evidence to provide an overview and technology of the use of cannabidiol, its effects, and related products in dentistry.References.1.PISANTI, Simona, et al. Cannabidiol: State of the art and new challenges for therapeutic applications. Pharmacology &amp; therapeutics, vol. 175, p. 133-150, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.02.041. 2.CUBA, L. F., et al. Cannabidiol: an alternative therapeutic agent for oral mucositis?. Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, 2017, vol. 42, no 3, p. 245-250.3. Abidi, Ammaar H., et al. "Anti-inflammatory activity of cannabinoid receptor 2 ligands in primary hPDL fibroblasts." Archives of oral biology 87 (2018): 79-85.4.KONERMANN, Anna, et al. In vivo and in vitro identification of endocannabinoid signaling in periodontal tissues and their potential role in local pathophysiology. Cellular and molecular neurobiology, 2017, vol. 37, no 8, p. 1511-1520.

Can Non-Pharmacological Antidepressant Treatments Influence the Processing of Affective Information?

Depressive disorders are commonly associated with abnormalities in affective cognition. When processing information with emotional content, the depressed brain typically exhibits mood-congruent negative biases; that is, an abnormal preference for negative relative to positive information. In turn, recent psychopharmacological research has revealed that antidepressant drug treatments have the ability to push affective information processing more towards a preferential processing of positive information. These observations have led to the postulation of a cognitive neuropsychological model of antidepressant treatment action. This model suggests that negative biases play an important causal (rather than just epiphenomenal) role in the development of depressed mood and efficacious antidepressant interventions exert their clinical effects by acutely counterbalancing these cognitive abnormalities. In this chapter, we extend the focus to non-pharmacological treatments for depression and ask whether they too can influence affective cognition, and, if so, what these effects look like. We highlight recent studies investigating how cognitive behavioural therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation, and environmental therapeutics impact on affective information processing in patients with depression. We show that, for each of these treatments, at least some evidence exists that suggests an influence on affective cognition and that in some cases the observed effects are directly in line with the cognitive neuropsychological model. However, as will become clear, the currently available evidence is rather sparse and, in many regards, incomplete. We therefore conclude that—similar to antidepressant drugs—non-pharmacological treatments can also influence affective information processing in patients with depression. However, whether these changes can counterbalance negative biases, and whether they are causally involved in the clinical effects of the different treatments, remains to be elucidated by future research.

The Global HIV/AIDS and LGBT Movements

A reciprocal relationship exists between HIV/AIDS and LGBT organizing, both historically and in the current era. This chapter analyses the dynamics of the interconnection between these movements since the first description of the disease we now know as AIDS appeared in 1981. It begins by describing the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and how the first organizations dedicated to HIV/AIDS emerged out of and drew inspiration from LGBT groups. It then looks at the specific cases of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and how both groups linked their activism strategies to previous LGBT organizing experiences in the United States and South Africa, respectively. The chapter then examines the reciprocal relationships between the domestic and international levels in HIV/AIDS and LGBT politics. Finally, it explores the tensions between the HIV/AIDS and LGBT movements and the lines of division within the HIV/AIDS movement itself.

Antimicrobial Resistance is a Global Problem

Infectious agents resistance to antimicrobials remains a challenging open problem of health care around the world. As a result, treatment-induced infections pose a serious threat to public health in general. This problem has become so important that the overwhelming majority of countries consider it a threat to the national security. Resistance to antimicrobials threatens to offset the very fundamentals of modern medicine and the sustainability of the public health system effective global response to a permanent infectious diseases threat. Today, antimicrobial resistance issues can be tackled provided that one implements an effective One Health approach (the principle of human and animal health interrelation), assuming that there is a coordination between different sectors and subjects, including experts in medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, ecology, and well-informed consumers. To ensure effectiveness of treatment, action is urgently needed to counteract the further development and spread of antibiotic resistance, which is driven by antibiotic use in all sectors. Since this resistance has no ecological, sectoral or geographical borders, its appearance in one sector affects resistance in other sectors. National authorities, veterinarians, physicians, patients and farmers all have key roles in preserving the power of antibiotics. The prevention and containment of antibiotic resistance therefore requires addressing all risk factors for the development and spread of antibiotic resistance across the full spectrum of conditions, sectors, settings (from health care to use in food-animal production) and countries. This article explores the options for prevention and containment of antibiotic resistance in the food-chain through national coordination, including the regulation and reduction of antibiotic use in food animals, training and capacity building, surveillance of resistance trends and antibiotic usage, promotion of knowledge and research, and advocacy and communication to raise awareness of the issues. The article suggests possible ways for adopting a holistic, intersectoral, multifaceted approach to this growing problem.

Impact of Self-Acupressure on Co-Occurring Symptoms in Cancer Survivors

BackgroundCancer survivors with fatigue often experience depressive symptoms, anxiety, and pain. Previously, we reported that self-acupressure improved fatigue; however, its impact on other co-occurring symptoms and their involvement in treatment action has not been explored.MethodsChanges in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and pain were examined prior to and following two formulas of self-acupressure and usual care using linear mixed models in 288 women from a previously reported clinical trial. Participants were categorized by random assignment into one of three groups: 1) relaxing acupressure, 2) stimulating acupressure, or 3) usual care. Moderators investigated were body mass index, age, depressive symptoms, anxiety, sleep and pain, and mediators were change in these symptoms.ResultsFollowing treatment, depressive symptoms improved statistically significantly for the relaxing acupressure group (41.5%) compared with stimulating acupressure (25%) and usual care (7.7%). Both acupressure groups were associated with greater improvements in anxiety than usual care, but only relaxing acupressure was associated with greater reductions in pain severity, and only stimulating acupressure was associated with greater reductions in pain interference. There were no statistically significant moderators of sleep quality, anxiety, or depressive symptoms. Fatigue statistically significantly moderated pain, and age statistically significantly modified fatigue. Changes in depressive symptoms and sleep quality statistically significantly mediated the relationship between relaxing acupressure and usual care on fatigue; however, the effect was small.ConclusionsAcupressure was associated with greater improvements than usual care in anxiety, pain, and symptoms of depression in breast cancer survivors with troublesome fatigue. These findings warrant further evaluation in suitably controlled randomized trials.