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Studies of HIV-related symptom and treatment side effect prevalence often fail to distinguish individual causal attributions between the two types of problems. However, an understanding of causal appraisals is critical to clarifying and intervening on coping in the context of HIV symptoms and treatment side effects. The objectives of this study are (1) to present causal attributions of symptoms reported by HIV+ adults taking combination therapy and (2) to describe the differential impact on health-related quality of life. In a cross-sectional interview study, a convenience sample of 109 HIV-positive adults taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were interviewed using a combination of self- and interviewer-administered measures of quality of life, physical problem checklists, and side effect and HIV-related symptom attribution assessments. The most prevalent physical problems were fatigue, stiff/painful joints, aching muscles, diarrhea, feelings of depression, and neuropathy. Those most commonly labeled as side effects of HAART included upset stomach, nausea/vomiting, constipation, and changes in taste. Most commonly cited as symptoms related to HIV disease were tender lymph nodes, night sweats, weight loss, fever, and loss of strength. Impact of side effects, symptoms, and both were associated with impaired physical and social functioning. Disease-related symptoms, but not side effects, were related to perceptions of general health. Results suggest that HIV-positive persons taking HAART make distinctions between symptoms of disease and side effects of treatment. Perceived disease-related symptoms and side effects have significant and unique associations with quality of life. Findings have implications for symptom and side effects management, provider relations, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Black and brown birthing people experience persistent disparities in adverse maternal health outcomes, partially due to inadequate perinatal care. The goal of this study is to design and evaluate a patient-centered intervention for obstetric patients with one or more cardiometabolic risk factors for severe maternal morbidity [gestational diabetes, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (chronic hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, or gestational hypertension), or preconception obesity (BMI > 30)] to promote postpartum visit attendance., Methods: To address identified unmet needs for postpartum support and barriers to postpartum care, we developed 20 thematic postpartum planning modules, each with corresponding patient educational materials, community resources, care coordination protocols, and clinician support tools (decision aids, electronic medical record prompts and fields). During prenatal care encounters, a research coordinator delivers the educational content (in English or Spanish), facilitates the participant's planning and shared decision-making, provides the participant with resources, and documents decisions in the electronic medical record. We will randomize 320 eligible patients with a 1:1 ratio to the intervention or standard prenatal care and evaluate the impact on postpartum visit attendance at 4-12 weeks and secondary outcomes (postpartum mental health, perceived future maternal and cardiometabolic risk, contraceptive use, primary care use, readmission, and patient satisfaction with care)., Discussion: Through engagement with patients and community stakeholders, we developed a guideline-based, locally tailored intervention to address drivers of engagement with postpartum care for high-risk obstetric patients. If demonstrated to be effective, the educational materials and electronic medical record based-tool can be adapted to other settings., Trial Registration: This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05430815) on June 23, 2022., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This study is funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01MD016031) and registered under clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05430815). It received ethical approval from the Emory University Institutional Review Board (00001427). All participating individuals completed informed consent prior to participation in the study. The NIMHD has no role in the conduct, analysis, or interpretation of results. We have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although cancer survival rates are improving, pediatric patients with cancer still face numerous stressors. Using an integrative approach, a literature review was conducted to identify stressors and synthesize effective coping strategies among pediatric patients with cancer. The CINAHL® Complete, ProQuest, and PubMed® databases were searched for relevant studies using key terms. Eight studies were included in the final analysis. Three factors contributing to everyday stressors of pediatric patients with cancer and four major coping categories were identified.

Background: Strains from a collection of Drosophila GFP protein trap lines express GFP in the normal tissues where the endogenous protein is present. This collection can be used to screen for proteins distributed in the nucleus in a non-uniform pattern., Methodology/principal Findings: We analyzed four lines that show peripheral or punctate nuclear staining. One of these lines affects an uncharacterized gene named CG11138. The CG11138 protein shows a punctate distribution in the nuclear periphery similar to that of Drosophila insulator proteins but does not co-localize with known insulators. Interestingly, mutations in Lamin proteins result in alterations in CG11138 localization, suggesting that this protein may be a novel component of the nuclear lamina. A second line affects the Decondensation factor 31 (Df31) gene, which encodes a protein with a unique nuclear distribution that appears to segment the nucleus into four different compartments. The X-chromosome of males is confined to one of these compartments. We also find that Drosophila Nucleoplasmin (dNlp) is present in regions of active transcription. Heat shock leads to loss of dNlp from previously transcribed regions of polytene chromosome without redistribution to the heat shock genes. Analysis of Stonewall (Stwl), a protein previously found to be necessary for the maintenance of germline stem cells, shows that Stwl is present in a punctate pattern in the nucleus that partially overlaps with that of known insulator proteins. Finally we show that Stwl, dNlp, and Df31 form part of a highly interactive network. The properties of other components of this network may help understand the role of these proteins in nuclear biology., Conclusions/significance: These results establish screening of GFP protein trap alleles as a strategy to identify factors with novel cellular functions. Information gained from the analysis of CG11138 Stwl, dNlp, and Df31 sets the stage for future studies of these proteins.