Search

Extensive media coverage and potential controversy about COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic may have affected people's general attitudes towards vaccination. We sought to describe key psychological antecedents related to vaccination and assess how these vary temporally in relationship to the pandemic and availability of COVID-19 vaccination. As part of an ongoing online study, we recruited a national (U.S.) sample of young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (N = 1,227) between October 2019 and June 2021, and assessed the "4Cs" (antecedents of vaccination; range = 1–5). Overall, men had high levels of confidence (trust in vaccines; M = 4.13), calculation (deliberation; M = 3.97) and collective responsibility (protecting others; M = 4.05) and low levels of complacency (not perceiving disease risk; M = 1.72). In multivariable analyses, confidence and collective responsibility varied relative to the pandemic phase/vaccine availability, reflecting greater hesitancy during later stages of the pandemic. Antecedents also varied by demographic characteristics. Findings suggest negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on key antecedents of general vaccination and identify potential targets for interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To better understand the contribution of age to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) was used to model OA in 12-week-old and 12-month-old male C57BL/6 mice. OA severity was evaluated histologically. RNA used for microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis was isolated from joint tissue collected from the medial side of the joint, including cartilage, meniscus, subchondral bone, and the joint capsule with synovium. Computational analysis was used to identify patterns of gene expression, and immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate tissue distribution of selected proteins. Results OA was more severe in older mice than in young mice. Only 55 genes showed a similar expression with DMM-induced OA in the 2 age groups, while 493 genes showed differential expression, the majority having increased expression in older mice. Functional categories for similarly expressed genes included extracellular matrix- and cell adhesion-related genes; differentially expressed genes included those related to muscle structure and development and immune response genes. Comparison of expression in sham-operated control joints revealed an age-related decrease in matrix gene expression and an increase in immune and defense response gene expression. Interleukin-33 was present in multiple joint tissue cells, while CCL21 was more localized to chondrocytes and meniscal cells. Periostin was found in the extracellular matrix of cartilage and meniscus. Conclusion Age affects both the basal pattern of gene expression in joint tissues and the response to surgically induced OA. Examining tissue from the joint beyond only cartilage revealed novel genes and proteins that would be important to consider in OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been shown to have broad effects on development, but their mutagenic actions that can lead to cancer have been less clearly demonstrated. Physiological levels of estrogen have been shown to stimulate DNA damage in breast epithelial cells through mechanisms mediated by estrogen-receptor alpha (ERa). Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and propylparaben (PP) are xenoestrogens found in the urine of >96% of U.S. population. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effect of BP-3 and PP on estrogen receptor–dependent transactivation and DNA damage at concentrations relevant to exposures in humans. METHODS: In human breast epithelial cells, DNA damage following treatment with 17β-estradiol (E[sub 2]), BP-3, and PP was determined by immunostaining with antibodies against γ-H2AX and 53BP1. Estrogenic responses were determined using luciferase reporter assays and gene expression. Formation of R-loops was determined with DNA: RNA hybrid-specific S9.6 antibody. Short-term exposure to the chemicals was also studied in ovariectomized mice. Immunostaining of mouse mammary epithelium was performed to quantify R-loops and DNA damage in vivo. RESULTS: Concentrations of 1µM and 5µM BP-3 or PP increased DNA damage similar to that of E2 treatment in a ERα-dependent manner. However, BP-3 and PP had limited transactivation of target genes at 1µM and 5µM concentrations. BP-3 and PP exposure caused R-loop formation in a normal human breast epithelial cell line when ERa was introduced. R-loops and DNA damage were also detected in mammary epithelial cells of mice treated with BP-3 and PP. CONCLUSIONS: Acute exposure to xenoestrogens (PP and BP-3) in mice induce DNA damage mediated by formation of ERα-dependent R-loops at concentrations 10-fold lower than those required for transactivation. Exposure to these xenoestrogens may cause deleterious estrogenic responses, such as DNA damage, in susceptible individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study objective was to identify commonalities amongst family medicine physicians who endorse annual adolescent visits. Methods: A nationally weighted representative on-line survey was used to explore pediatrician (N = 204) and family medicine physicians (N = 221) beliefs and behaviors surrounding adolescent wellness. Our primary outcome was endorsement that adolescents should receive annual preventive care visits. Results: Pediatricians were significantly more likely (p < .01) to endorse annual well visits. Among family medicine physicians, bivariate comparisons were conducted between those who endorsed an annual visit (N = 164) compared to those who did not (N = 57) with significant predictors combined into two multivariate logistic regression models. Model 1 controlled for: patient race, proportion of 13-17 year olds in provider's practice, discussion beliefs scale and discussion behaviors with parents scale. Model 2 controlled for the same first three variables as well as discussion behaviors with adolescents scale. Model 1 showed for each discussion beliefs scale topic selected, family medicine physicians had 1.14 increased odds of endorsing annual visits (p < .001) and had 1.11 greater odds of endorsing annual visits with each one-point increase in discussion behaviors with parents scale (p = .51). Model 2 showed for each discussion beliefs scale topic selected, family medicine physicians had 1.15 increased odds of also endorsing the importance of annual visits (p < .001). Conclusions: Family medicine physicians that endorse annual visits are significantly more likely to affirm they hold strong beliefs about topics that should be discussed during the annual exam. They also act on these beliefs by talking to parents of teens about these topics. This group appears to focus on quality of care in thought and deed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute aerobic exercise may increase cognitive processing speed among tasks demanding a substantial degree of executive function. Few studies have investigated executive function after acute exercise in older adults across various exercise intensities. Healthy females 60-75 years of age (n = 11) who were not on medications completed 20-min exercise sessions at a moderate (50%VO2max) exercise intensity and a vigorous (75%VO2max) exercise intensity. Modified flanker tasks (reaction times) and d2 tests of sustained and selective attention (components of executive function) were completed before, immediately after, and 30-min post-exercise. Results indicated that older adult females had improved scores on the modified flanker task reaction times (RTT, RTI, RTC) and d2 tests immediately after both moderate and vigorous intensity aerobic exercise. Some of these effects were maintained 30 min post-exercise. These findings suggest that an acute bout of exercise, regardless of intensity, can improve performance on tests of executive function in older women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]