Sexual

Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) reduces bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men and transgender women. While poised for widespread clinical implementation, the impact of doxy-PEP on antimicrobial resistance remains a primary concern as its effects on the gut microbiome and resistome, or the antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) present in the gut microbiome, are unknown. To investigate these effects, we studied participants from a randomized clinical trial who either received doxy-PEP as a one-time doxycycline 200 mg taken after condomless sex (DP arm, n = 100) or standard of care treatment (SOC arm, n = 50)...

Network models are increasingly used to study infectious disease spread. Exponential Random Graph models have a history in this area, with scalable inference methods now available. An alternative approach uses mechanistic network models. Mechanistic network models directly capture individual behaviors, making them suitable for studying sexually transmitted diseases. Combining mechanistic models with Approximate Bayesian Computation allows flexible modeling using domain-specific interaction rules among agents, avoiding network model oversimplifications...

Gamete traits can vary widely among species, populations and individuals, influencing fertilisation dynamics and overall reproductive fitness. Sexual selection can play an important role in determining the evolution of gamete traits with local environmental conditions determining the strength and direction of sexual selection. Here, we test for signatures of post-mating selection on gamete traits in relation to population density, and possible interactive effects of population density and sperm concentration on sperm motility and fertilisation rates among natural populations of mussels...

Objectives: This study aims to map sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) policies, strategies, and interventions targeting young migrants and describe the patterns of organisation, resources, and services across Sweden's 21 regions. Methods: We conducted a document analysis of accessible online documents on SRHR policies, strategies, and interventions targeting young migrants in Sweden's 21 regions. We used ideal-type analysis of the documents to create a typology, which formed the basis of a ratings system illustrating variations in organisation, resources, and services across regions...

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis for persons at high risk of HIV exposure. The optimal screening strategy for at-risk individuals in primary care is not known. We evaluated the strategy of universal screening and discussed challenges to the implementation of this recommendation in primary care. Around 430 of 500 (86%) screening surveys were completed. Mutual monogamy was common but monogamous partners with recent negative HIV testing were uncommon. Likewise, among heterosexually active men and women, inconsistent condom use was common...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIMS: To describe the range of effects experienced due to the drinking of people respondents know and analyze risk and protective factors for harm from the drinking of partners and household members, other relatives and friends and co-workers. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Surveys of 2574 participants' experiences were obtained from two samples: 1000 people responded to random digitally dialled Australian mobile calls and 1574 participants responded from the Life in AustraliaTM  panel survey...

Immunocompromised individuals, primarily attributable to using immunosuppressants, face heightened COVID-19 risks. Despite the proven efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, their impact on patients with immune-mediated dermatological diseases remains unclear. This study aims to thoroughly examine vaccine immunogenicity, effectiveness, and safety in immune-mediated dermatological disease patients. Clinical studies in adults that compared vaccinated immune-mediated dermatological disease patients with vaccinated healthy controls or unvaccinated immune-mediated dermatological disease patients in terms of vaccine immunogenicity, COVID-19 infection, adverse events, or exacerbation of immune-mediated dermatological diseases were searched via electronic databases...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Developmental plasticity is particularly important for humans and other primates because of our extended period of growth and maturation, during which our phenotypes adaptively respond to environmental cues. The hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes are likely to be principal targets of developmental "programming" given their roles in coordinating fitness-relevant aspects of the phenotype, including sexual development, adult reproductive and social strategies, and internal responses to the external environment...

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis, the main underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease, is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by lipid accumulation and immune cell responses in the vascular wall, resulting in plaque formation. It is well-known that atherosclerosis prevalence and manifestation vary by sex. However, sexual dimorphism in the immune landscape of atherosclerotic plaques has up to date not been studied at high-resolution. In this study, we investigated sex-specific differences in atherosclerosis development and the immunological landscape of aortas at single-cell level in aged Ldlr-/- mice...

BACKGROUND: HIV partner notification services can help people living with HIV (PLHIV) to identify, locate, and inform their sexual and injecting partners who are exposed to HIV and refer them for proper and timely counseling and testing. To what extent these services were used by PLHIV and what are the related barriers and facilitators in southeast Iran are not known. So, this study aimed to explore HIV notification and its barriers and facilitators among PLHIV in Iran. METHODS: In this qualitative study, the number of 23 participants were recruited from November 2022 to February 2023 including PLHIV (N = 12), sexual partners of PLHIV (N = 5), and staff members (N = 6) of a Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) center in Kerman located in the southeast of Iran...

BACKGROUND: The use of temephos, the most common intervention for the chemical control of Aedes aegypti over the last half century, has disappointing results in control of the infection. The footprint of Aedes and the diseases it carries have spread relentlessly despite massive volumes of temephos. Recent advances in community participation show this might be more effective and sustainable for the control of the dengue vector. METHODS: Using data from the Camino Verde cluster randomized controlled trial, a compartmental mathematical model examines the dynamics of dengue infection with different levels of community participation, taking account of gender of respondent and exposure to temephos...

BACKGROUND: The Japanese government has instituted border control measures against COVID-19, including entry and exit screening of people arriving from overseas. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the exit screening policy in Japan in reducing the risk of importing COVID-19 cases among travelers from Asian and Pacific countries. METHODS: The study period was stratified based on the timing of exit screening: (i) the control period (the pre-exit screening period from 25 October 2020 to 16 January 2021), (ii) the time period with the Alpha variant from 17 January to 10 April 2021, and (iii) the time period with the Delta variant from 2 May to 2 October 2021...

BACKGROUND: Chile rapidly implemented an extensive COVID-19 vaccination campaign, deploying a diversity of vaccines with a strategy that prioritized the elderly and individuals with comorbidities. This study aims to assess the direct impact of vaccination on the number of COVID-19 related cases, hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths averted during the first year and a half of the campaign. METHODS: Via Chile's transparency law, we obtained access to weekly event counts categorized by vaccination status and age...

BACKGROUND: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as leprosy, lymphatic filariasis (LF), schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis are endemic in several African countries. These diseases can lead to severe pain and permanent disability, which can negatively affect the economic productivity of the affected person(s), and hence resulting into low economic performance at the macrolevel. Nonetheless, empirical evidence of the effects of these NTDs on economic performance at the macrolevel is sparse...

BACKGROUND: Hospital-acquired influenza (HAI) is under-recognized despite its high morbidity and poor health outcomes. The early detection of HAI is crucial for curbing its transmission in hospital settings. AIM: This study aimed to investigate factors related to HAI, develop predictive models, and subsequently compare them to identify the best performing machine learning algorithm for predicting the occurrence of HAI. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted in 2022 and included 111 HAI and 73,748 non-HAI patients from the 2011-2012 and 2019-2020 influenza seasons...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The Garua bacha, Clupisoma garua, holds considerable commercial and nutritional significance as a fish species. This study investigates the relationships between GSI (gonadosomatic index) and eco-climatic conditions, and provides comprehensive insights into several facets of reproduction, such as size at first sexual maturity (Lm ), spawning season, peak spawning period, and proposes sustainable management strategies for C. garua in the Ganges River, northwestern, Bangladesh. Since January to December 2017, 570 female individuals have been gathered from the Ganges River using cast nets, gill nets, and square lift nets on a monthly basis...

OBJECTIVE: The Chepang people, an indigenous ethnic group in Nepal, experience substantial marginalization and socioeconomic disadvantages, making their communities among the most vulnerable in the region. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in the Chepang communities of Raksirang Rural Municipality, Makwanpur District, Bagmati Province, Nepal. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to April 2023 among 231 Chepang women selected using simple random sampling from Raksirang Rural Municipality...