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Purpose: To report the clinical signs, symptoms, and viral clearance in individuals in the United States with adenoviral conjunctivitis (Ad-Cs)., Methods: Individuals ≥ 18 years presenting within 4 days of symptoms of Ad-Cs who met eligibility criteria and tested positive with both point-of-care immunoassay antigen and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) testing were enrolled. Patient-reported symptoms, clinician-graded signs, and qPCR viral titers were collected at baseline, days 1-2, 4 (days 3-5), 7 (days 6-10), 14 (days 11-17) and 21 (days 18-21)., Results: There was no detectable viral titers by the day 14 visit in 6/8 patients. By day 21, there was no detectable viral titers in the 7 participants who completed the visit; however, signs and symptoms persisted including: blurry vision (5/7), discomfort (2/7) or redness (1/7). Masked clinicians also noted conjunctival redness (4/7), follicular conjunctivitis (4/7) and bulbar edema (3/7)., Conclusion: Many patient-reported symptoms and clinical signs persist after viral titers are no longer detectable by qPCR. Using clinical signs and symptoms to determine quarantine duration may result in patients being furloughed longer than the time that the patient is infectious., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 British Contact Lens Association. All rights reserved.)

HIV prevention goals in the United States include reducing new HIV infections among people in the South Census region (commonly referred as the South). Using data reported to the National HIV Surveillance System, we examined trends in HIV diagnoses in the South, including the Deep South and Other South, during 2012-2017. Although diagnosis rates declined in all regions during the time period, declines were greater in all other regions compared to the Deep South, with the exception of the West region. Moreover, the South continues to have a diagnosis rate 50% higher (65% higher in the Deep South) than that of any other region. Diagnoses in the Deep South increased among some groups, including men who have sex with men, persons aged 25-34 years and Hispanics/Latinos. These findings highlight the need to further strengthen interventions in the South, particularly among communities of color and young adults.

Since 2006, CDC has recommended universal screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection at least once in health care settings and at least annual rescreening of persons at increased risk for infection (1,2), but data from national surveys and HIV surveillance demonstrate that these recommendations have not been fully implemented (3,4). The national Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative* is intended to reduce the number of new infections by 90% from 2020 to 2030. The initiative focuses first on 50 local jurisdictions (48 counties, the District of Columbia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico) where the majority of new diagnoses of HIV infection in 2016 and 2017 were concentrated and seven states with a disproportionate occurrence of HIV in rural areas relative to other states (i.e., states with at least 75 reported HIV diagnoses in rural areas that accounted for ≥10% of all diagnoses in the state). † This initial geographic focus will be followed by wider implementation of the initiative within the United States. An important goal of the initiative is the timely identification of all persons with HIV infection as soon as possible after infection (5). CDC analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) § to assess the percentage of adults tested for HIV in the United States nationwide (38.9%), in the 50 local jurisdictions (46.9%), and in the seven states (35.5%). Testing percentages varied widely by jurisdiction but were suboptimal and generally low in jurisdictions with low rates of diagnosis of HIV infection. To achieve national goals and end the HIV epidemic in the United States, strategies must be tailored to meet local needs. Novel screening approaches might be needed to reach segments of the population that have never been tested for HIV., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterial foodborne pathogen, can cause meningitis, bacteremia, and complications during pregnancy. This report summarizes listeriosis outbreaks reported to the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during 1998-2008. The study period includes the advent of PulseNet (a national molecular subtyping network for outbreak detection) in 1998 and the Listeria Initiative (enhanced surveillance for outbreak investigation) in 2004. Twenty-four confirmed listeriosis outbreaks were reported during 1998-2008, resulting in 359 illnesses, 215 hospitalizations, and 38 deaths. Outbreaks earlier in the study period were generally larger and longer. Serotype 4b caused the largest number of outbreaks and outbreak-associated cases. Ready-to-eat meats caused more early outbreaks, and novel vehicles (i.e., sprouts, taco/nacho salad) were associated with outbreaks later in the study period. These changes may reflect the effect of PulseNet and the Listeria Initiative and regulatory initiatives designed to prevent contamination in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

Research on the influence of volunteering on mental health outcomes has not placed enough focus on African American female caregivers who are at risk for adverse outcomes such as depression. This study addresses this gap by examining the mechanism through which volunteering might influence depressive symptoms using data collected from 521 African American female caregivers of older adults. Regression results indicate that although volunteering is inversely associated with depressive symptoms, self-esteem mediates this relationship. Findings suggest inclusion in volunteering for African American female caregivers may be relevant to promotion of their mental well-being.

We examine the prevalence and factors associated with lifetime gun-carrying among 858 urban out-of-treatment substance using women using data collected between 2000 and 2004 in a large Midwestern city. Instruments assessed gun ownership, carrying and access, psychopathology and personal lifestyle risk factors. Analyses were conducted using logistic regression. Illegal activities for income and lifetime violent victimization were the most significant predictors of gun carrying. The implications for practice and future research are discussed along with the study's limitations. The work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Objective: This analysis examines substance abuse/dependence and related HIV risk behaviors among older drug users in comparison to their younger counterparts., Methods: Data related to substance use disorders and HIV related behaviors were collected from 1,079 African American drug users recruited using a street outreach method., Results: Older users were less likely to have engaged in recent sexual activity, but those who did engage did not vary significantly in their sexual risk behaviors than did drug users aged 25 to 44. Older users were more likely to abuse cocaine and be opiate dependent than younger users were, and this abuse and dependence, along with alcohol abuse, were associated with older users' perception of their risk for HIV/AIDS., Discussion: Although the years 25 to 44 are considered a critical age for HIV risk, older substance users have similar levels of risk for HIV/AIDS. However, older users may not understand how some behaviors contribute to HIV risk.

The study examined what factors led pastors to say something either negative or positive about former President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky for a sample from "Middletown." There was no significant difference between three Protestant categories (Holiness/Pentecostal, white conservative Protestant, and mainline Protestant) in whether ministers said something or not. Analysis for those who said something indicated that the ministers who made the most critical statements in their sermons were from the most conservative/orthodox of our category of churches, i.e., Holiness/Pentecostal congregations, from the strictest churches and from churches with the greatest number of Republicans (betas were .30, .26, and .19, respectively). Also, members of Holiness/Pentecostal churches were more likely to be working class but not more Republican. Possible explanations are discussed.

The authors surveyed by telephone a random sample of voters in the 1996 presidential election from the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area of Muncie, IN ("Middletown"; R. Lynd & H. Lynd, 1929) to test a model describing the nature of 2 conservative political ideologies--social traditionalism and economic conservatism. The model, based on functions of attitudes theory, predicted (a) that the 2 political ideologies would appeal to 2 rather distinct constituency groups--the former, to conservative Protestants; the latter, to people of higher incomes--and (b) that social traditionalists would be more dogmatic and economic conservatives would be more open-minded in their respective views. The findings were consistent with those predictions.

Past research suggests that public support for the use of animal models as means to improve the human condition is present but many individuals have expressed ambivalence. In the present study, various sectors of the academic community (students and faculty) as well as the general population, were surveyed to assess their positions on the need for, and value of animal research, the value of psychological research in which animals are employed, and the respondents' consummatory habits. The results suggested that more information needs to be provided about the role of animal experimentation, including a discussion of the benefits produced by using animals to answer psychological questions.