Suchergebnisse

AbstractHeavy
metal contamination of food crop plants is viewed as a global issue. Heavy metals like cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), and mercury (Hg) are poisonous. Depending on their concentration and capacity for bioaccumulation, they can provide a range of health risks.This research sought to investigate the effects of toxic metals (TMs) on the growth characteristics of produced tomatoes grown under wastewater irrigation. Additionally, it looked into the potential repercussions of both domestic and foreign individuals consuming this plant. In south Cairo, Egypt, two study locations were looked into: a control site in Abu Ragwan, which received water from tributaries of the Nile River, and a contaminated site in El-Shobak El-Sharky, which had raw industrial wastewater. The nutrients of soil and tomato plants (N, P, and K) decreased (P < 0.01), while TMs increased (P < 0.001) significantly as a result of using wastewater for irrigation. Except for Cu, all examined TM accumulating in tomato plants' roots as opposed to shoots had a bioaccumulation factor (BF) > 1. However, the tomato plant's shoot had solely undergone Pb and Ni translocation and storage, with a translocation factor (TF) > 1. A significant amount of Fe (5000.1 mg kg−1), Pb (360.7 mg kg−1), and Mn (356.3 mg kg−1) were present in the edible fruits. The ingestion of contaminated crops increases the daily intake rate of metals (DIR). The values of the high hazard quotient (HQ) were obtained (2073.8 and 2558.9 for Pb, 574.0 and 708.3 for Cd, and 41.1 and 50.7 for Fe for adults and children, respectively). Therefore, tomato plants grown in soils irrigated with untreated wastewater may offer a greater danger to human health, indicating that they should not be grown as a crop for human consumption.

Etravirine (ETV) has been approved for use in treatment‐experienced patients based on results of the Duet clinical trials [1]. Less experience exists with ETV in earlier stages of treatment. ETV has a favorable genetic barrier, lipid profile, and little associated CNS toxicity. These characteristics make ETV attractive as a switch strategy for simplification and/or management of side effects. A retrospective chart review was conducted at a large urban HIV clinic in Toronto. All patients who were switched to ETV plus 2 nucleosides and whose viral load (VL) was <200 copies/ml at the time of switch were included. Maintenance of viral suppression, CD4 and lipid changes at 24 weeks and reason for switch to ETV are reported. Seventy‐three patients (67 male) were identified. Mean age was 46±10 and mean duration of HIV infection was 11.7±7.4 years. Switches were from efavirenz=29, atazanavir=23, lopinavir=16, other=5. Duration of prior regimen was long; median 195 weeks. CNS and GI intolerance were the most common reasons for switches. At the time of analysis, 63 patients had reached week 24. Three patients had discontinued ETV prior to week 24, 3 LTF/U, 4 had <24 weeks follow‐up. 92% (67/73) maintained VL suppression (ITT); failures were 6 patients who stopped/lost‐to‐follow‐up prior to week 24. On treatment, CD4 increased and lipid decreased changes as seen below. All patients who switched due to CNS side effects had subjective improvement.










Baseline
Change from baseline to week 24 (OT, n=63)
P value




CD4 (cells/mm3)
632±269
+49±137
<0.01


Total cholesterol (mmol/L)
4.76±1.11
−0.57±0.77
<0.01


HDL (mmol/L)
1.20±0.36
−0.05±0.21
0.06


LDL (mmol/L)
2.71±1086
−0.40±0.73
<0.01


Triglycerides (mmol/L)
2.06±1.86
−0.55±1.76
0.02




Switch to ETV plus 2 nucleosides maintained viral suppression, improved lipid profiles and improved side effect profile in this selected group of patients. 48 week f/u will be presented.

In the context of HIV, women's sexual rights and sexual autonomy are important but frequently overlooked and violated. Guided by community voices, feminist theories, and qualitative empirical research, we reviewed two decades of global quantitative research on sexuality among women living with HIV. In the 32 studies we found, conducted in 25 countries and composed mostly of cis-gender heterosexual women, sexuality was narrowly constructed as sexual behaviours involving risk (namely, penetration) and physiological dysfunctions relating to HIV illness, with far less attention given to the fullness of sexual lives in context, including more positive and rewarding experiences such as satisfaction and pleasure. Findings suggest that women experience declines in sexual activity, function, satisfaction, and pleasure following HIV diagnosis, at least for some period. The extent of such declines, however, is varied, with numerous contextual forces shaping women's sexual well-being. Clinical markers of HIV (e.g., viral load, CD4 cell count) poorly predicted sexual outcomes, interrupting widely held assumptions about sexuality for women with HIV. Instead, the effects of HIV-related stigma intersecting with inequities related to trauma, violence, intimate relations, substance use, poverty, aging, and other social and cultural conditions primarily influenced the ways in which women experienced and enacted their sexuality. However, studies framed through a medical lens tended to pathologize outcomes as individual "problems," whereas others driven by a public health agenda remained primarily preoccupied with protecting the public from HIV. In light of these findings, we present a new feminist approach for research, policy, and practice toward understanding and enhancing women's sexual lives—one that affirms sexual diversity; engages deeply with society, politics, and history; and is grounded in women's sexual rights.

INTRODUCTION: Globally, prosecutions for non-disclosure, exposure or transmission of HIV frequently relate to sexual activity, biting, or spitting. This includes instances in which no harm was intended, HIV transmission did not occur, and HIV transmission was extremely unlikely or not possible. This suggests prosecutions are not always guided by the best available scientific and medical evidence. DISCUSSION: Twenty scientists from regions across the world developed this Expert Consensus Statement to address the use of HIV science by the criminal justice system. A detailed analysis of the best available scientific and medical research data on HIV transmission, treatment effectiveness and forensic phylogenetic evidence was performed and described so it may be better understood in criminal law contexts. Description of the possibility of HIV transmission was limited to acts most often at issue in criminal cases. The possibility of HIV transmission during a single, specific act was positioned along a continuum of risk, noting that the possibility of HIV transmission varies according to a range of intersecting factors including viral load, condom use, and other risk reduction practices. Current evidence suggests the possibility of HIV transmission during a single episode of sex, biting or spitting ranges from no possibility to low possibility. Further research considered the positive health impact of modern antiretroviral therapies that have improved the life expectancy of most people living with HIV to a point similar to their HIV-negative counterparts, transforming HIV infection into a chronic, manageable health condition. Lastly, consideration of the use of scientific evidence in court found that phylogenetic analysis alone cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that one person infected another although it can be used to exonerate a defendant. CONCLUSIONS: The application of up-to-date scientific evidence in criminal cases has the potential to limit unjust prosecutions and convictions. The authors recommend that caution be exercised when considering prosecution, and encourage governments and those working in legal and judicial systems to pay close attention to the significant advances in HIV science that have occurred over the last three decades to ensure current scientific knowledge informs application of the law in cases related to HIV. ; publishersversion ; published