Cannabis use in a Swiss male prison: qualitative study exploring detainees' and staffs' perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest a high prevalence of cannabis use before and during imprisonment, but subjective perspectives of detainees and staff towards its use in prison are lacking. This issue was explored in the framework of an observational study addressing tobacco use in three Swiss prisons in 2009 and 2010 that involved multiple strands (quantitative and qualitative components). This article presents qualitative data on cannabis use collected in one of the settings. METHODS: We used in-depth semi-structured interviews with both detainees and staff to explore their attitudes towards cannabis in one post-trial male Swiss prison. We performed specific coding and thematic analysis for cannabis with the support of ATLAS.ti, compared detainees' and staff's opinions, and considered the results with regard to drug policy in prison in general. RESULTS: 58 participants (31 male offenders, mean age 35 years, and 27 prison staff, mean age 46 years, 33% female) were interviewed. Detainees estimated the current use of cannabis use to be as high as 80%, and staff 50%. Participants showed similar opinions on effects of cannabis use that were described both at individual and institutional levels: analgesic, calming, self-help to go through the prison experience, relieve stress, facilitate sleep, prevent violence, and social pacifier. They also mentioned negative consequences of cannabis use (sleepiness, decreased perception of danger and social isolation), and dissatisfaction regarding the ongoing ambiguous situation where cannabis is forbidden but detection in the urine was not sanctioned. However, the introduction of a more restrictive regulation induced fear of violence, increased trafficking and a shift to other drug use. CONCLUSION: Although illegal, cannabis use is clearly involved in daily life in prison. A clearer and comprehensive policy addressing cannabis is needed, including appropriate measures tailored to individual users. To sustain a calm and safe environment in prison, means other than substance or medication use are required.

Been given any good gifts recently? (Male)

This poster draws attention to the health risks of chlamydia for men and advises on the use of condoms as a method of protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It also provides contact details for the Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics in Northern Ireland.

Is your waistline creeping up on you? poster (male)

This poster was produced to support the choosetolivebetter campaign aimed at raising awareness of the health risks associated with overweight and obesity in men Northern Ireland.

Effects of timber harvest on phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a production forest: abundance of species on tree trunks and prevalence of trypanosomatids

The Amazon forest is being exploited for timber production. The harvest removes trees, used by sand flies as resting sites, and decreases the canopy, used as refuges by some hosts. The present study evaluated the impact of the timber harvest, the abundance of sand flies, and their trypanosomatid infection rates before and after selective logging. The study was accomplished in terra-firme production forest in an area of timber harvest, state of Amazonas, Brazil. Sand fly catches were carried out in three areas: one before and after the timber harvest, and two control areas, a nature preservation area and a previously exploited area. The flies were caught by aspiration on tree trunks. Samples of sand flies were dissected for parasitological examination. In the site that suffered a harvest, a larger number of individuals was caught before the selective extraction of timber, showing significant difference in relation to the number of individuals and their flagellate infection rates after the logging. The other two areas did not show differences among their sand fly populations. This fact is suggestive of a fauna sensitive to the environmental alterations associated with selective logging.

Préservation de la fertilité masculine et cancer [Fertility preservation and cancer in the male].

Improvement in cancer treatments resulted in an increased number of men surviving cancer. Quality of life has become an important issue in these patients. Anti cancer treatments might have transient or definitive harmful effects on male fertility. Sperm cryoconservation is currently the only proven method to preserve fertility in patients undergoing oncologic treatment. It should be proposed to every patient at reproductive age before chemotherapy, radiotherapy or any surgery involving reproductive tract. Despite low use rate, this simple method could allow patients presenting infertility after treatment to father a child.

Diptera Brachycera found inside the esophagus of a mummified adult male from the early XIX century, Lisbon, Portugal

Fly puparia and adult fragments of diptera muscid were found inside the esophagus of a mummified body from the early XIX century, buried inside the crypt of the Sacrament Church (Lisbon, Portugal). The identification of the material revealed a monospecific colonization by Ophyra capensis (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Muscidae), a species known to invade corpses in the ammoniacal fermentation wave. This species can be found in corpses kept indoors, not available to the early waves of blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). In the present case, the number of pupae and their developmental stage suggest that the female invaded the mummified corpse through the partially opened mouth and the oviposition took place directly inside the esophagus. This is the first case of O. capensis infesting internal organs of an intact corpse. The use of chemical products for the embalming process probably explains why external colonization did not occur.

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of extracts and exudates of the Amazonian medicinal tree Himatanthus articulatus (Vahl) Woodson (common name: sucuba)

Himatanthus articulatus (Vahl) Woodson is a tree found in the northern Amazon savannahs (common name: sucuba) that is used in local Amerindian medicine. Leaf, bark and branch wood methanol extracts, sequentially obtained hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts and latex were evaluated for antifungal and antibacterial activities against American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and local clinical strains using the disc diffusion method. Methanol extracts and latex inhibited Candida albicans, leaf methanol extracts inhibited Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and bark methanol extracts inhibited B. subtilis. Active extracts inhibited the ATCC and clinical strains. Polar antifungal and antibacterial principles in latex and extracts are thought to be responsible for the inhibition.

Frequency of Fabry disease in male and female haemodialysis patients in Spain

BACKGROUND: Fabry disease (FD), an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder, is caused by a reduced activity of the lysosomal enzyme alpha-galactosidase A. The disorder ultimately leads to organ damage (including renal failure) in males and females. However, heterozygous females usually present a milder phenotype with a later onset and a slower progression. METHODS: A combined enzymatic and genetic strategy was used, measuring the activity of alpha-galactosidase A and genotyping the alpha-galactosidase A gene (GLA) in dried blood samples (DBS) of 911 patients undergoing haemodialysis in centers across Spain. RESULTS: GLA alterations were found in seven unrelated patients (4 males and 3 females). Two novel mutations (p.Gly346AlafsX347 and p.Val199GlyfsX203) were identified as well as a previously described mutation, R118C. The R118C mutation was present in 60% of unrelated patients with GLA causal mutations. The D313Y alteration, considered by some authors as a pseudo-deficiency allele, was also found in two out of seven patients. CONCLUSIONS: Excluding the controversial D313Y alteration, FD presents a frequency of one in 182 individuals (0.55%) within this population of males and females undergoing haemodialysis. Moreover, our findings suggest that a number of patients with unexplained and atypical symptoms of renal disease may have FD. Screening programmes for FD in populations of individuals presenting severe kidney dysfunction, cardiac alterations or cerebrovascular disease may lead to the diagnosis of FD in those patients, the study of their families and eventually the implementation of a specific therapy.

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and associated factors among male illicit drug users in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Intravenous drug injection has been reported as the main risk factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and the epidemiological profile of HCV infection among abusers of illegal injected and non-injected drugs in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Central Brazil. A cross-sectional study including 314 male drug users from eight detoxification centres was performed. Out of 314 subjects studied, 48 (15.2%) were intravenous drug users. Participants were interviewed and had blood samples taken and tested for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. Positive samples were tested for the presence of HCV RNA. Genotyping was performed on HCV RNA-positive samples. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies was 6.4% (n = 20). Out of 20 anti-HCV antibody-positive subjects, 16 (80%) were also HCV RNA-positive. Genotype 1 predominated (75%), followed by 3a (25%). Subtype 1a was more common than 1b. HCV infection was more prevalent among intravenous drug users (33%) than non-injecting users (1.5%). Logistic regression analyses showed independent associations between HCV infection and intravenous drug use, imprisonment and increasing age. In the present study, injecting drug use was the factor most strongly associated to HCV infection and inhaling or sniffing did not represent an increased susceptibility to infection.

Genetic male infertility and mutation of CATSPER ion channels.

A clinically significant proportion of couples experience difficulty in conceiving a child. In about half of these cases male infertility is the cause and often genetic factors are involved. Despite advances in clinical diagnostics ∼50% of male infertility cases remain idiopathic. Based on this, further analysis of infertile males is required to identify new genetic factors involved in male infertility. This review focuses on cation channel of sperm (CATSPER)-related male infertility. It is based on PubMed literature searches using the keywords 'CATSPER', 'male infertility', 'male contraception', 'immunocontraception' and 'pharmacologic contraception' (publication dates from January 1979 to December 2009). Previously, contiguous gene deletions including the CATSPER2 gene implicated the sperm-specific CATSPER channel in syndromic male infertility (SMI). Recently, we identified insertion mutations of the CATSPER1 gene in families with recessively inherited nonsyndromic male infertility (NSMI). The CATSPER channel therefore represents a novel human male fertility factor. In this review we summarize the genetic and clinical data showing the role of CATSPER mutation in human forms of NSMI and SMI. In addition, we discuss clinical management and therapeutic options for these patients. Finally, we describe how the CATSPER channel could be used as a target for development of a male contraceptive.

Duodenal duplication cyst and pancreas divisum causing acute pancreatitis in an adult male acute pancreatitis in an adult male

Duodenal duplication cysts are rare congenital abnormalities which are more commonly diagnosed in infancy and childhood. However, in rare cases, these lesions can remain asymptomatic until adulthood. The combination of duplication cyst and pancreas divisum is extremely rare and both conditions have been linked with acute recurrent pancreatitis. We present the case of a 37 years-old patient who presented with repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis. By means of magnetic resonance imaging and endoscopic ultrasonography we discovered a duplication cyst whose cavity received drainage from the dorsal pancreas. After opening the cyst cavity to the duodenal lumen with a needle knife the patient presented no further episodes in the clinical follow-up. Comparable literature findings and therapeutic options for these abnormalities are discussed with regard to the presented case.

A prediction rule to identify low-risk patients with pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: A simple prognostic model could help identify patients with pulmonary embolism who are at low risk of death and are candidates for outpatient treatment. METHODS: We randomly allocated 15,531 retrospectively identified inpatients who had a discharge diagnosis of pulmonary embolism from 186 Pennsylvania hospitals to derivation (67%) and internal validation (33%) samples. We derived our rule to predict 30-day mortality using classification tree analysis and patient data routinely available at initial examination as potential predictor variables. We used data from a European prospective study to externally validate the rule among 221 inpatients with pulmonary embolism. We determined mortality and nonfatal adverse medical outcomes across derivation and validation samples. RESULTS: Our final model consisted of 10 patient factors (age > or = 70 years; history of cancer, heart failure, chronic lung disease, chronic renal disease, and cerebrovascular disease; and clinical variables of pulse rate > or = 110 beats/min, systolic blood pressure < 100 mm Hg, altered mental status, and arterial oxygen saturation < 90%). Patients with none of these factors were defined as low risk. The 30-day mortality rates for low-risk patients were 0.6%, 1.5%, and 0% in the derivation, internal validation, and external validation samples, respectively. The rates of nonfatal adverse medical outcomes were less than 1% among low-risk patients across all study samples. CONCLUSIONS: This simple prediction rule accurately identifies patients with pulmonary embolism who are at low risk of short-term mortality and other adverse medical outcomes. Prospective validation of this rule is important before its implementation as a decision aid for outpatient treatment.

The predation cost of being a male: implications for sex-specific rates of ageing

Evolutionary theory predicts that the rate of extrinsic (i.e. age- and condition-independent) mortality should affect important life history traits such as the rate of ageing and maximum lifespan. Sex-specific differences in mortality rates due to predation may therefore result in the evolution of important differences in life history traits between males and females. However, quantifying the role of predators as a factor of extrinsic mortality is notoriously difficult in natural populations. We took advantage of the unusual prey caching behaviour of the barn owl Tyto alba and the tawny owl Strix aluco to estimate the sex ratio of their five most common preys. For all prey species, there was a significant bias in the sex ratio of remains found in nests of both these owls. A survey of literature revealed that sex-biased predation is a common phenomenon. These results demonstrate that predation, a chief source of extrinsic mortality, was strongly sex-biased. This may select for alternate life history strategies between males and females, and account for a male life span being frequently lower than female lifespan in many animal species.

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea)

We developed 11 new microsatellite markers for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), and tested patterns of polymorphism in 54 adults (27 males and 27 females) from two ponds close to Lausanne (Western Switzerland). One marker was sex linked and two pairs displayed linkage disequilibrium. Comparisons of allele numbers with heterozygosity values support a stepwise-mutation model at neutral equilibrium, with mutation rates spanning nearly two orders of magnitude. These markers will prove useful for population genetic studies and fine-scale investigations requiring genetic assignment techniques.

Schistosomiasis risk mapping in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using a decision tree approach, remote sensing data and sociological indicators

Schistosomiasis mansoni is not just a physical disease, but is related to social and behavioural factors as well. Snails of the Biomphalaria genus are an intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni and infect humans through water. The objective of this study is to classify the risk of schistosomiasis in the state of Minas Gerais (MG). We focus on socioeconomic and demographic features, basic sanitation features, the presence of accumulated water bodies, dense vegetation in the summer and winter seasons and related terrain characteristics. We draw on the decision tree approach to infection risk modelling and mapping. The model robustness was properly verified. The main variables that were selected by the procedure included the terrain's water accumulation capacity, temperature extremes and the Human Development Index. In addition, the model was used to generate two maps, one that included risk classification for the entire of MG and another that included classification errors. The resulting map was 62.9% accurate.