Mcguiresumner8329

Coculture of AGS cells with CEAE-KP at a noncytotoxic concentration of 16 μg/ml and H. pylori reduced IL-8 secretion by ~ 60% at 12 h, which was consistent with the decreased level of mRNA expression, and inhibited neutrophil chemotaxis to IL-8. sHP (100 ng/ml) induced marked monocyte chemoattraction, and this was decreased by ~ 60% by CEAE-KP. GSK126 CONCLUSION CEAE-KP might serve as a potent alternative medicine to ameliorate the inflammation mediated by H. pylori infection.BACKGROUND Relaxin is an endogenous protein that has been shown to have antifibrotic properties in various organ systems. There has been no characterization of relaxin's role in the human bladder. Our objective was to characterize relaxin receptor expression in the human bladder and assess relaxin's effect on tissue remodeling/fibrosis pathways in bladder smooth muscle cells. METHODS Relaxin family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) and RXFP2 expression was assessed using quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) on primary bladder tissue. Primary human smooth muscle bladder cells were cultured and stimulated with various concentrations of relaxin. Western blot, qRTPCR, ELISA, and zymogram assays were used to analyze fibrosis/tissue remodeling pathway proteins. RESULTS There was universal mRNA transcript detection and protein expression of relaxin receptors in primary bladder specimens. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated RXFP1 and RXFP2 localizing to both urothelial and smooth muscle cell layers of the bladder. 24 h of in vitro relaxin stimulation did not affect mRNA expression of selected proteins in human bladder smooth muscle cells. However, 48 h of in vitro relaxin stimulation resulted in upregulation of active (p = 0.004) and latent (p = 0.027) MMP-2 in cell lysate, and upregulation of active MMP-2 in supernatant (p = 0.04). There was a dose dependent relationship with increasing expression of MMP-2 with increasing relaxin concentration. Relaxin stimulation resulted in decreased levels of active and total TGF-β1 in supernatant and extracellular matrix (p  less then  0.005 with 100 ng/mL relaxin stimulation). CONCLUSIONS In the human bladder, relaxin receptors are expressed at the dome and trigone and localize to the urothelium and smooth muscle cell layers. Stimulation of human bladder SMCs with relaxin in vitro affects expression of MMP-2 and TGF-β1.BACKGROUND As the proportion of older people increases, so will the consumption of health services. The aim of this study was to describe the contact characteristics among older people and to identify factors associated with the degree of urgency at the Norwegian out-of-hours (OOH) emergency primary health care services. METHODS Inhabitants aged ≥70 years who contacted the OOH service during 2014-2017 in seven OOH districts in Norway were included. We investigated the variables sex, age, time of contact, mode of contact, ICPC-2 based reason for encounter (RFE), priority degree and initial response. We also performed frequency analyses, rate calculations and a log-binomial regression. RESULTS A total of 38,293 contacts were registered. The contact rate/1000 inhabitants/year was three times higher in the oldest age group (≥90 years) compared to the youngest age group (70-74 years). Direct attendance accounted for 8.4% of the contacts and 32.8% were telephone contacts from health professionals. The most frequenter people as having "general and unspecified" reasons for encounters. OOH nursing staff would benefit from having screening tools and enhanced geriatric training to best support this vulnerable group when these individuals call the OOH service.BACKGROUND Residential radon is a major preventable cause of lung cancer. However, prevention requires radon testing and it has proven very challenging to motivate individuals to test their homes for hazards like radon that are invisible and whose health effects occur after a long latency following exposure. Novel approaches to radon communication are urgently needed. METHODS We created a novel radon-education app for smartphones and examined its effectiveness in increasing radon knowledge and radon testing. We studied radon knowledge and attitudes and behavior relevant to radon testing before and after app use. RESULTS Ninety-seven undergraduates installed the app on their smartphones and used it for a month. App use resulted in higher scores in the domains of radon knowledge (p  less then  .001); self-efficacy (p  less then  .001), and response efficacy (p  less then  .001). Twenty-three participants (24%) used the app to obtain a free radon test kit. Self-efficacy (p  less then  .05) and response efficacy (p  less then  .01) were positive predictors of ordering a test kit. The test process completion rate (the fraction of participants who ordered test kits, used them to test their houses and sent the kits to the lab) was 9%. CONCLUSIONS A smartphone app is a promising venue for communicating radon risk and for stimulating radon testing. Future interventions designed to increase actual test kit use are required to maximize the benefit of the app.BACKGROUND Stress is very common among medical students and trainees. Chronic stress has multiple negative mental and physical health consequences. This study explores medical students and interns' stressors and their coping strategies. METHODS This is a qualitative study involving four focus group discussions with final year medical students (8 males, 10 females) and medical interns (8 males, 7 females). The study was conducted between October 2017 and January 2018 in the premises of a large medical school in Riyadh. After verbatim transcription, framework thematic analysis of the data was performed using NVivo software. RESULTS Promoting the reward feeling of the medical profession was seen as an active stress-coping strategy among medical students. Planning and time management was seen by some participants as stressful while others felt it was a stress-coping strategy. The perception of stress among medical students was seen as a normal feeling. Avoiding discussions on medical matters, building relationships with the other sex and smoking were reported as avoidant stress-coping strategies. CONCLUSION Medical students and interns are still struggling to achieve healthy stress-coping strategies. There is a great need for stress management programs to help fostering the students' coping skills.BACKGROUND In Ethiopia, about 80% of the population use traditional medicine (TM) due to the cultural acceptability of healers and local pharmacopeias, the relatively low cost of traditional medicine, and the difficulty of accessing modern health facilities. This study was aimed at assessing traditional medicine utilization and its determinants among parents of the children employing a case study of the Tole District of South West of Oromia, Ethiopia. METHODS A community-based cross-sectional data were collected from 267 parents who have children less than 18 years old. The respondents were selected through a systematic random sampling technique. Both descriptive and exploratory techniques were used to analyze the data. The exploratory logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors determining the use of traditional medicine (TM). RESULTS We found out that 85.9% of parents used TM for their children. Herbal medicine 73 (34.4%), massage 55 (25.9%), and religious/prayer therapy 25 (11.8%) were the major therapies used by parents for their children. In the study area, the rate of parental TM utuilization for their children was determined by monthly income [OR 0.25(0.08, 0.78)], cultural belief [OR 3.01(1.16, 7.83)], religious belief [OR = 3.17(1.26, 7.93)], and duration of illness [OR = 3.11(1.07, 9.02)]. CONCLUSION Traditional medicine use is highly prevalent that its contribution to the public health is significant as some could not access to and afford modern health services in the area. Therefore, health professionals should advise parents side-by-side procuring modern health services. In light of this, further research will be needed on the safety and efficacy of TM for wider application.BACKGROUND The question of how to set the cost-effectiveness threshold for new, innovative medicines is a matter of ongoing controversy. One prominent proposal suggests that the cost-effectiveness threshold adopted by the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) should represent the opportunity cost for the U.K. National Health Service resulting from the adoption of new medicines. The purpose of this article is to compare this proposal for the U.K. with the approach chosen by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in Germany, which relies on indication-specific cost-effectiveness thresholds. MAIN TEXT The 'ideal' NICE and IQWiG surprisingly share the fundamental principle of inferring the willingness to pay from existing care. For this and other reasons, indication-specific thresholds based on IQWiG's methodology do not lead to more inefficiency at the health system's level than a generic threshold based on the 'ideal' NICE (keeping other conditions the same). Also, applying either decision rule to one country will yield a similar long-term growth in population spending. Assuming that everything else is equal, both decision rules are predicted to decrease long-term expenditure growth. Convergence of the two decision rules would require, among others, ruling out waste in the 'ideal' NICE's approach and, for IQWiG's approach, using the same relative weights for life expectancy and health-related quality of life as the quality-adjusted-life-year model. CONCLUSION This article shows that both decision rules have notable commonalities in terms of inferring the willingness to pay from existing care and the projected impact on long-term growth in population spending.BACKGROUND According to recent studies, the number of women drug users is dramatically increasing. However, the information on the issue of drug rehab in women is not sufficient, and there are numerous traditional, organizational, political and cultural barriers to the provision of relevant information in this regard in Iran. This study, thus, aimed to explain the factors influencing the decision of these women to stop drug use. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted in two rehab camps of Isfahan (in Iran) on July to October 2017. Thirty participants (women drug users) were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling until data saturation was reached. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS Based on the analysis of the obtained results, the women's experience of the ups and downs of stopping drug use yielded two themes and nine sub-themes. The themes were "the need for emancipation (the deviated path, being abused, compulsive drug use, acquaintance with God, a supportive family)" and "Sinking factors (non-assisting mates, pro-addictive family, unawareness of assisting official organization and non-government organization, woman's lack of authority, ineffective opportunities)". CONCLUSIONS It was concluded that addiction rehab strategies can lead to a brighter life for women drug users only when they are coupled with open-hearted assistance of the families and women specific rehab centers are established to help them meet their specific needs.