A Retrospective Analysis of the Effect of Anlotinib in Patients With Lung Cancer With or Without Previous Antiangiogenic Therapy

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to initially investigate the effect of previous antiangiogenic therapy (bevacizumab and endostatin) on the efficacy of anlotinib in patients with advanced or metastatic lung cancer (LC).MethodsWe retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients with LC treated with anlotinib and divided them into group A (treated with anlotinib after the failure of previous antiangiogenic drugs and group B (no prior use of antiangiogenic drugs). We used propensity score matching (PSM) for confounding factors between the groups. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were also recorded.ResultsA total of 160 patients were included in the analysis. The median OS in groups A and group B was 11.8 months and 16.1 months (P=0.120), whereas the median PFS was 3.1 months and 4.7 months (P=0.009), respectively. Moreover, the objective response rate (ORR) of the two groups was 9.6% and 10.4% (P=0.874), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 71.1% and 80.5% (P=0.165).After PSM (n=46), baseline characteristics were comparable between groups A and B. Furthermore, the median OS of the two groups was 14.6 months and 16.2 months (P=0.320), whereas the median PFS was 3.5 months and 4.5 months (P=0.040), respectively. Moreover, the ORR of the two groups were 13.0% and 10.9% (P=0.748), and the DCR were 78.3% and 82.6% (P=0.599), respectively.ConclusionsPrevious antiangiogenic treatments may affect the PFS of patients who receive anlotinib later, but it might not affect the patient’s ORR and OS.

Knowledge of and willingness to take pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men in Israel

Background Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) has been found to reduce viral acquisition among HIV-negative MSM. This cross-sectional study was conducted before pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) licensure in Israel, and aimed to compare men who have sex with men (MSM) who had heard of PrEP with those who had not, as well as MSM willing to take PrEP with those who were hesitant or not willing to take PrEP. Methods HIV-negative MSM responded anonymously to questionnaires in 2017 regarding their knowledge of and willingness to take PrEP, prior use of PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and their sexual behaviors. Results Among 1705 participants, 1431 (83.9%) had heard about PrEP. They were older and more often reported being Jewish, having an academic degree, self-identifying as gay/bisexual, being tested for HIV in the last year, participating in group sex, using alcohol or drugs before or during sex, and having prior use of PrEP/PEP compared with MSM who had not heard about PrEP. A total of 760 (44.8%) participants indicated that they would consider taking PrEP, 567 (33.5%) maybe would consider taking PrEP, and 367 (21.7%) would not take PrEP. Those who were willing to take PrEP had a lower level of education, were involved in high-risk sexual behaviors, used alcohol or drugs before or during sex, and had previously used PrEP/PEP compared with participants who maybe would consider taking or would not take PrEP. When participants were asked to indicate if they were willing to take PrEP at different potential efficacies and costs, the willingness to using PrEP increased with the potential efficacy of the drug and adversely related to its cost. Conclusions PrEP awareness was high, and 44.8% indicated willingness to take PrEP, especially those who reported high-risk sexual behaviors. This supports the current policy in Israel to allow PrEP to MSM who are at high-risk. In order to maintain a high level of PrEP-adherence, physicians should consider structural barriers, such as negative stigma of being promiscuous, lack of perceived HIV-risk, difficulties in accessing clinics or paying for PrEP, inability to follow-up or low tolerability of the medication.

Towards Understanding Post-Socialist Migrants’ Access to Physical Activity in the Nordic Region: A Critical Realist Integrative Review

Experiences of, and access and barriers to, physical activity (PA) differ between individuals. This becomes perpetuated in a migration context. Although there is super-diversity between migrant groups, health research rarely accounts for this cultural diversity. More concerningly, the matter of context is rarely scrutinized or juxtaposed with the specifics of certain ethnic groups. This integrative review assessed the evidence on post-socialist migrants’ PA levels, constraints, and enablers for PA in the Nordic region. The results show that post-socialist female migrants have an especially high risk of being physically inactive. The qualitative work elucidates socio-cultural factors that impose specific constraints on females when attempting to engage in PA. Furthermore, in scrutinizing the context, Nordic nature (Friluftsliv) is a viable way for migrants to access PA with additional health benefits (e.g., mental). However, the Nordic environment also poses specific PA challenges, such as harsh winters. This can be understood by considering post-socialist migrants’ prior use of, and attitude to, nature. The review highlights the importance of understanding specifics about both migrant groups and contexts through a critical-realist lens in the pursuit of providing PA opportunities. Future PA programs need to understand the contextual, sociohistorical, and cultural settings in which they and migrants are embedded.

Herbal medicines use and associated factors among pregnant women in Debre Tabor town, north West Ethiopia: a mixed method approach

Background Use of herbal medicines during pregnancy has been increase in many developing and developed countries. In spite of the studies done on herbal medicine, no study has addressed use of herbal medicine among pregnant women in Debre Tabor Town. Hence, the major aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of herbal medicine use and associated factors. Methods A community based explanatory sequential mixed methods was employed. The quantitative method used cross-sectional study design with a sample size of 267 women, also 12 participants in a group for focus group discussion and 6 in-depth interviews from focus group were included for a qualitative part using a purposive sampling technique. The data were coded and entered into Epidata 4.2.0.0 and analysis was done using SPSS version 25, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Bivariate and multivariate logistic analyses were used to assess associations between dependent and independent variables. Results Ninety-five (36.3%) of pregnant women used herbal medicine during pregnancy. Prior use of herbal medicine (AOR: 3.138; 95% CI: 1.375, 7.162), unable to read & write (AOR: 9.316; 95% CI: 2.339, 37.101), presence of health problems (AOR: 3.263; 95% CI: 1.502, 7.090), drug availability (AOR: 9.872; 95% CI: 4.322, 22.551) and distance to the health facilities (AOR 6.153; 95% CI 2.487, 15.226) were significantly associated with use of herbal medicine. Only 5(5.3%) of herbal medicine users disclosed their herbal medicine use to their healthcare providers. Zingiber officinale, Eucalyptus globulus, Rutachalepensis, Linumusitatissimum, and Moringa stenopetala were the most commonly used herbal medicines by pregnant women. Conclusions The use of herbal medicine during pregnancy is a common practice and significantly associated with educational status, prior use of herbal medicine, presence of health problems, drug availability and distance to the health facilities. Since there was high prevalence and low disclosure rate of herbal medicine use, it should be ensured that physicians/midwives establish a good level of communication with pregnant women.

Age of initiation of hookah use among young adults: Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, 2013–2017

Objective To prospectively estimate the age of initiation of ever, past 30-day, and fairly regular hookah use among young adults (ages 18–24) overall, by sex, by race/ethnicity, and to explore the association of prior use of other tobacco products with these hookah use behaviors. Methods Secondary data analyses of the first four waves (2013–2017) of the PATH study, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study of US young adults. Young adult never hookah users at the first wave of adult participation in PATH waves 1–3 (2013–2016) were followed-up into waves 2–4 (2014–2017) to estimate the age of initiation of three outcomes: (i) ever use, (ii) past 30-day use, and (iii) fairly regular hookah use. Weighted interval-censoring Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine the differences in the estimated age of initiation by sex and by race/ethnicity while controlling for the total number of other tobacco products ever used at participants’ first wave of PATH participation. In addition, to examine if prior use of other tobacco products was associated with the age of hookah initiation behaviors, six additional Cox models are reported for each hookah initiation behaviors. Results The largest increase in hookah use occurred between ages 18 and 19: 5.8% for ever use and 2.7% for past 30-day hookah use. By age 21, 10.5%, 4.7% and 1.2% reported initiation of ever, past 30-day and fairly regular hookah use, respectively. There were statistically significance differences in the age of initiation of hookah use behaviors by race/ethnicity. Conclusion Educational interventions should target young adults before the age of 21, focusing efforts specifically on males, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics, to stall initiation and progression of hookah use behaviors.

The Effects of Steering Locomotion on User Preference and Accuracy in Virtual Environments

Locomotion in virtual environments presents challenges due to the discrepancy between the virtual and the real-world space. Teleportation has been suggested for rapid transit and low cybersickness. However, users often find the method disorienting and difficult over short distances. This is problematic in many gaming scenarios where moderate distances are common. We examined three methods of self-directed, steering locomotion for short to mid-range distances. The methods were pointing, head, and semi-decoupled head and controller. The decoupled method was to explore if game console navigation would be preferred due to familiarity. The experiment focused on user preference and accuracy and had 19 participants. We anticipated that more intuitive methods would be preferred. The pointing method had the greatest impact on accuracy. History of motion sickness susceptibility and prior use of video games did not affect preference with participants favoring the pointing method twice as often over the head method and with none preferring the semi-decoupled method. The pointing method also had lower average illness scores, although not statistically significant. The results suggest that pointing provides an accurate method of locomotion while also being a lower cybersickness option for steering navigation.

A Review of Lightweight Composite Development Using Paper Waste and Pulverized Ceramics - Towards a Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Construction

Finding an effective framework for the consumption of municipal and construction/demolition wastes has been the main research consideration for decades. For different categories of wastes, there is a need for the development of working systems for cleaner utilization of the materials. This study is focused on the review of composite development using paper waste and pulverized ceramics. The issues discussed comprises; excessive waste production, the building sector’s ecological effects, paper waste availability, and proposed solutions to realizing a sustainable built environment. The study also discussed standard mortar and the various types that exist, lightweight mortar, its nature, intricacies of its production process, and the prior use of waste materials for its manufacture. Paper waste, although not having enough strength as conventional aggregate, but with its filling effect, could fit lightweight mortar production along with other similar aggregates. The study gave an overview of the methodological deficiency found and proposed viable approaches to combat these gaps and further advance sustainable and eco-friendly construction.

Culture and Susceptibility of Levofloxacin Resistant H.pylori

Background Antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori is the major cause of eradication failure. Prevalence of H.pylori antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide, and it is the main factor affecting efficacy of current therapeutic regimens. Our aim is to investigate H.pylori resistant patients toward Levofloxacin and detect the most effective antibiotic in eradication of H.pylori. Objective To investigate H.pylori resistant patients toward Levofloxacin including regimens and to detect the most effective antibiotic in H.pylori eradication. Patients and Methods The present study aimed to investigate the Susceptibility of Levofloxacin Resistant H.pylori in patients who had been diagnosed and received any regimen including Levofloxacin and still signs and symptoms of H.pylori infection not releaved and after proper time of stoppage of PPI and antibiotics H.pylori Ag in stool still positive at the period from January 2019 to February 2020. Results In the present study we found a wide spectrum of resistance to rates of H. pylori, from nearly negligible rates of Rifampicin (0%), Imipenem (0%), Cefotaxime (2%), Tetracycline (6%), Doxycycline(10%), and Amoxicillin(38%). To high rates resistance to Metronidazole (100%), Erythromycin (72%), Clarithromycin (68%), Azithromycin (60%), Ciprofloxacin (52%), and Levofloxacin (48%). Conclusion Helicobacter pylori is the most common chronic bacterial infection in humans. Antibiotic resistance is a major issue nowadays. Prior use of macrolide antibiotics or metronidazole appears to increase the risk of H. pylori resistance. Clarithromycin resistance appears to be an "absolute" condition that can not be overcome by increasing the macrolide dose. Levofloxacin resistance seems to be increasing. Culture and susceptibility should be done before starting second line treatment.