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In this article, the authors evaluate the effects of a behavioral intervention for mothers with problem drinking who were infected with, or at risk for, HIV. They randomly selected 25 mothers from a larger longitudinal randomized controlled intervention trial for a qualitative interview. The authors found that mothers' participation in the program was facilitated by the development of a strong therapeutic alliance with the intervention facilitator and the use of a harm reduction approach toward alcohol and/or drug abuse. Mothers also reported that training in coping skills and the emphasis on parent-adolescent relationships were beneficial for program engagement and behavior change. The authors conclude from these results that treatment approaches that take into account the complexity of urban mothers' lives and substance use patterns can successfully engage and treat these women at high risk for adverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RESUMEN La Enfermedad Inflamatoria Pélvica (EIP) es una de las complicaciones más severas de las Enfermedades de Transmisión Sexual (ETS) se puede deber entre otros eventos al ascenso de la microflora genital femenina o a la infección de gérmenes implicados en ETS como la Chlamydia trachomatis o Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Esto trae como consecuencia serias repercusiones desde el punto de vista gineco-obstétrico. Una de las principales limitaciones a la que se enfrenta el médico es el conocer su etiología. De tal manera que con el presente trabajo, se pretende establecer el tipo de microorganismos involucrados en esta patología a fin de que al identificarlos, mediante el cultivo de endocérvix, endometrio y líquido peritoneal; se otorgue a la paciente el tratamiento adecuado, oportuno y certero, logrando así una mayor eficacia terapéutica.SUMMARY Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is one of the most severe complications of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). It can be due to the ascending of normal endogenous microorganisms of the female genital tract or the infection by microorganisms related to STD as Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. PID leads to serious gynecoobstetric consequences as infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Clinicians face the problem of knowing the ethiology of PID in order to treat appropriatly patients with this clinical diagnosis. So that, this work pretends to establish what kind of microorganisms are implicated in PID. A proper isolation and identification of microorganisms achieved by culture of lower genital tract samples from endocervix, endometrium and peritoneal fluid, leading to a betther, specific and proper treatment of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protein binding of itraconazole and fluconazole in the serum of patients with insulin-dependent (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) diabetes mellitus was investigated in vitro. The unbound percentage of itraconazole in patients with IDDM and NIDDM was significantly higher than that in healthy volunteers. In contrast, there were no significant differences in fluconazole protein binding. A negative correlation was established between itraconazole protein binding and albumin concentration, and a positive correlation with free fatty acid concentration. The existence of a larger percentage of unbound itraconazole in diabetes patients could imply a change in drug disposition and an alteration in the effect of the drug. This should be taken into consideration in long duration treatment, especially in view of the non-linear kinetics of itraconazole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governments working in partnership with communities can institutionalize practices that promote health equity. We offer a case study of how one city in the US is implementing Health in All Policies (HiAP) with the explicit aim of promoting health equity. We use participant observations, original document reviews and interviews to describe how Richmond, California, is building new partnerships, programs and practices with community-based organizations and within government itself as part of the implementation of its HiAP Ordinance. We also report on indicators that were identified by community and government stakeholders for tracking progress toward improving place-based determinants of population health. We find that the responsibility for implementing Richmond's HiAP Ordinance rests on a new institution within local government and this entity is building new partnerships, promoting innovative policies and augmenting practices toward greater health equity. We also reveal how city governments and community partners can collaboratively track progress toward health equity using locally gathered data., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Boron (B) is an essential element for plants. B availability depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and the quality of irrigation water. Under natural conditions, both toxic and deficit concentrations can occur and should be managed for crop production. However, the range between deficiency and toxicity is narrow. The objective of this study was to determine the response of cherry trees to deficient (0.04 mg kg -1 ), adequate (1.1 mg kg -1 ), and toxic (3.75 mg kg -1 ) B concentrations in the soil by measuring growth, biomass, photosynthetic parameters, visual symptoms, and morphological changes. Plants treated with a toxic dose had more spurs and shorter internodes than those treated with adequate and deficient doses. The white root weight (50.5 g) at low B concentrations had the most roots compared with the adequate (33.0 g) and toxic (22.0 g) concentrations. The stem weight and biomass partitioning were higher for white roots and stems at B-deficient and -adequate doses than at toxic doses. The net photosynthesis (Pn) and transpiration rate (E) were significantly higher in plants with adequate concentrations of B. Stomatal conductance (Gs) was higher in B-deficient plants. Morphological and visual differences were observed between treatments. The results showed that it is essential to adequately manage B in cherry crops to avoid the adverse effects of both low and toxic concentrations.

Poor and minority residents of Richmond, California, have faced a host of place-based hazards and stressors such as pollution, gun violence, and a dearth of economic opportunities, all of which have likely contributed to their poor health outcomes. In this article we describe the city's efforts to reverse its fortunes by embracing a health-in-all-policies strategy for community development. Starting in 2007, the city organized a series of participatory planning projects with residents, community activists, school officials, and other stakeholders to ensure that the city took health equity into account when devising each phase of its new community development strategy. The result was an approach designed to address the social determinants of health by directing development resources toward vulnerable communities and by adopting a health-in-all-policies ordinance. Specific projects focused on improving the built environment and community safety and redirecting government funds to areas of social need. The process has contributed to rising levels of resident satisfaction about personal health, the direction the city is taking, and the quality of neighborhood development. Richmond's experience suggests that adopting a health-in-all-policies strategy is one way to promote health equity in distressed cities., (Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.)

In April, 2014, the City of Richmond, California, became one of the first and only municipalities in the USA to adopt a Health in All Policies (HiAP) ordinance and strategy. HiAP is increasingly recognized as an important method for ensuring policy making outside the health sector addresses the determinants of health and social equity. A central challenge facing HiAP is how to integrate community knowledge and health equity considerations into the agendas of policymakers who have not previously considered health as their responsibility or view the value of such an approach. In Richmond, the HiAP strategy has an explicit focus on equity and guides city services from budgeting to built and social environment programs. We describe the evolution of Richmond's HiAP strategy and its content. We highlight how this urban HiAP was the result of the coproduction of science policy. Coproduction includes participatory processes where different public stakeholders, scientific experts, and government sector leaders come together to jointly generate policy goals, health equity metrics, and policy drafting and implementation strategies. We conclude with some insights for how city governments might consider HiAP as an approach to achieve "targeted universalism," or the idea that general population health goals can be achieved by targeting actions and improvements for specific vulnerable groups and places.

This paper provides evidence of the effects of urban wastewater discharges on the trophic state and environmental quality of a coastal water body in a semiarid subtropical region in the Gulf of California. The concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients and organic matter from urban wastewater primary treatment were estimated. La Salada Cove was the receiving water body and parameters measured during an annual cycle were temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a. The effects of sewage inputs were determined by using Trophic State Index (TRIX) and the Arid Zone Coastal Water Quality Index (AZCI). It was observed that urban wastewater of the city of Guaymas provided 1,237 ton N yr(-1) and 811 ton P yr(-1) and TRIX indicated that the receiving water body showed symptoms of eutrophication from an oligotrophic state to a mesotrophic state; AZCI also indicated that the environmental quality of the water body was poor. The effects of urban wastewater supply with insufficient treatment resulted in symptoms of eutrophication and loss of ecological functions and services of the coastal ecosystem in La Salada Cove.

Worldwide, military personnel have been recognized as a population at elevated risk for sexually transmitted infections and HIV. However, few evidence based behavioral interventions for the prevention of HIV and STIs have been rigorously evaluated in military personnel. We adapted the Popular Opinion Leaders (POL) intervention and piloted the adapted program with the Barbados Defence Force at one military base in Barbados. Popular Opinion Leaders were selected and trained to focus conversations on condom use. Behavioral questionnaires were administered using audio computer-assisted self interview at baseline (n = 256) and 6-month follow-up (n = 303). Mid-point focus groups were conducted with a sample of 15 POLs at a 3 month mid-point assessment. Quantitative data showed moderate increases in condom use at 6-months, and significant uptake of condom use during oral-genital contact in female personnel. A subgroup analysis suggests that this change was partially mediated by post-intervention changes in injunctive norms surrounding condom use in women. Focus groups revealed that POLs were heavily focusing on condom demonstrations, condom provision within social networks, speaking with coworkers about pleasure associated with condom use, and that the most common venues for conversations included those where alcohol was consumed. During the intervention, POLs dispersed from the intervention site as a result of normal personnel movement across bases, resulting in our having to use a pre and post intervention design across the population. It is likely that larger effect sizes would be observed in efforts that account for the natural dispersion of personnel across bases.

The serum protein binding of itraconazole and fluconazole, new azole antifungal agents, has been investigated in vitro, in serum from healthy volunteers and from patients with cancer. Protein binding was determined by ultrafiltration. Concentrations of both alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) and albumin (HSA) were measured in all serum samples. The serum protein binding of itraconazole was reduced in patients (96.02 +/- 1.41% vs 97.25 +/- 0.54%; p < 0.01) with respect to healthy volunteers. In contrast, fluconazole protein binding was increased in the same group of patients (22.96 +/- 3.60% vs 13.30 +/- 2.58%; p < 0.01). HSA levels in cancer patients were significantly decreased (p < 0.01) and AAG levels were found to be significantly elevated in patients with respect to control subjects (p < 0.05). A significant linear relationship between the bound/unbound concentration ratio of itraconazole and HSA (r2 = 0.3340; p < 0.01) was found. Similarly, a significant relation was established between the bound/unbound concentration ratio of fluconazole and AAG levels (r2 = 0.2235; p < 0.05). Thus, a weak association between the binding of these drugs and serum protein levels has been observed. It is concluded that both antifungal drugs show different protein binding behaviour in cancer patients.

The serum protein binding of itraconazole and fluconazole, new triazole antifungal agents, has been investigated in vitro in the serum of healthy volunteers and in patients with chronic renal failure (predialysis). Protein binding was determined by ultrafiltration. Concentrations of both alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) and albumin were measured in all serum samples. The protein binding of itraconazole showed no significant changes in patients with chronic renal failure when compared to healthy volunteers (96.64 +/- 0.99% vs. 96.85 +/- 0.33%). In contrast, fluconazole protein binding was significantly increased in the same patients (22.91 +/- 6.15% vs. 12.51 +/- 2.37%; p < 0.001). In addition, whereas albumin levels in the latter patients were significantly decreased (p < 0.001), their AAG levels were found to be significantly elevated with respect to control subjects (p < 0.001). While no correlation was established between itraconazole protein binding and albumin or AAG concentrations, a significant correlation was found between fluconazole protein binding and AAG levels (r = 0.72; p < 0.001). Fluconazole protein binding was found to be independent of albumin concentrations. In vitro carbamylation of serum protein with potassium cyanate caused no changes in the protein binding of fluconazole or itraconazole. We conclude that the binding of itraconazole by serum proteins is not altered in diseases involving changes of AAG or albumin concentrations. However, fluconazole protein binding may be altered in disease states associated with increased AAG concentrations.

The morphology of testicular descent in the Sprague-Dawley rat from day 14 of gestation to newborn was studied; the purpose was to analyse the anatomy and related observations made with light and scanning microscopy. Adult female rats were mated during estrus. The presence of spermatozoa in vaginal smears was taken to indicate day 0 of gestation. Animals were kept in a controlled 12-hour light-darkness cycle; food and water were provided ad libitum. At day 14 genital ducts are similar in both sexes. At day 15 and 16 the gubernaculum testis is seen as a mesenchymal cord that extends from mesonephros to the pelvic floor. At day 17 near the enlarged caudal end of gubernaculum, evagination of the abdominal cavity begins forming the peritoneo-vaginal process. The testis ligament as well as the gubernaculum testis attaching to the epididymis at different locations have no direct relation between themselves as such. During day 18, testis rotates on its own longitudinal axis in a ventral-lateral direction. This movement twists the testis ligament, the epididymis and deferent duct lengthen and these structures are lined up in the direction of the peritoneo-vaginal process. The testis is generally situated in the newborn, on or near the internal ring. The gubernaculum testis is attached to the epididymis but does not exercise traction on the testis. The epididymis is a factor in this descending process.