Sexuality and self-concept of morbidly obese women who are sexually attracted to men after bariatric surgery: a phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Morbid Obesity (MO) is a public health problem that affects a person's physical, psychological and sexual well-being. Women with MO are affected by their body image and self-concept, and obesity stigma may affect women in social and sexual relationships. OBJECTIVE: To describe and understand the experiences of morbidly obese heterosexual women (who are sexually attracted to men) in relation to their body image and sexuality after bariatric surgery. METHODOLOGY: Qualitative study using Merleau-Ponty's hermeneutic phenomenology as a philosophical framework. Data collection took place between 2020 and 2021 in a southern Spanish province. A total of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted using open-ended questions until data saturation was reached. RESULTS: Two main themes were identified: (1) "Escaping from a cruel environment": weight loss to increase self-esteem; with the sub-themes: 'I love myself now', and 'Body image and social relationships; a vicious circle; (2) "Now, I am truly me": accepting my body to reclaim my sexuality, with the sub-themes: 'The body as the focal point of sexuality', and 'When regaining your sex drive reignites your sex life and relationship'. CONCLUSION: Weight loss and body acceptance radically change morbidly obese women's sex lives after bariatric surgery. They rediscover their bodies, have increased self-esteem, and see improvements in their social relationships and sexuality. These women feel seen, loved and desired, and now value their body image and femininity. As they go through continuous improvements following bariatric surgery, they gradually regain self-esteem, acceptance of their bodies and control over their sex life. Even though the women's partners benefit from these improvements, they seem to be afraid of being left.

Obesity is a problem that affects women's physical, psychological and sexual well-being, as well as their social relationships. It is important to explore and understand the experiences of heterosexual women regarding their body and sexuality. After other treatments, women undergo surgery to reduce their obesity. After bariatric surgery women feel happier about themselves, experience less stigma and progressively recover their social and sex lives.

Efficacy and Safety of Calcifediol in Young Adults with Vitamin D Deficiency: A Phase I, Multicentre, Clinical Trial-POSCAL Study.

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent, and recent evidence suggests a possible association between vitamin D deficiency and various health conditions. The aim of this study was to assess monthly calcifediol treatments for vitamin D deficiency (or biweekly, if the deficiency was severe) in a young adult population with no associated comorbidities. This multicentre phase I trial started with a four month open-label treatment phase (TP) that included 101 participants (65% women with mean age 29.8 years). Eighty-two percent of the subjects (79/96) achieved 25(OH)D levels within the target range (20-60 ng/mL) by the end of the TP, and they were subsequently randomised and subjected to a double-blind, placebo-controlled, five month follow-up phase (FP). At the end of the FP, 89% of participants maintained vitamin D levels of >20 ng/mL with calcifediol, versus 49% with placebo (p < 0.001). Subjects receiving monthly calcifediol during both phases (n = 32) maintained 25(OH)D levels >20 ng/mL, whereas those on the placebo during the FP (n = 38) exhibited deficiency levels of 25(OH)D by the end of the study. No clinically relevant changes in bone metabolism parameters or toxic 25(OH)D levels were observed, and no serious adverse events were reported throughout the study. Calcifediol is a safe and effective treatment for vitamin D deficiency in the young adult population, but long-term use may be required to sustain optimal 25(OH)D levels.

Adult acute myeloid leukemia patients with NUP98 rearrangement have frequent cryptic translocations and unfavorable outcome.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with NUP98 rearrangement (AML-NUP98) has been uncommonly reported in adults, and its incidence in our institution is ∼2.5%. There were four men and five women with a median age of 49 years, among which six cases were de novo AML and three were therapy-related. Five cases were AML with minimal differentiation or without maturation, followed by four with monocytic differentiation. NUP98 rearrangement was confirmed in all cases by FISH, and five cases showed cryptic translocations. The median overall survival (OS) was 13 months, shorter than that of AML-NPM1 (p < 0.05), and similar to that in AML-KMT2A patients in our institution. The unfavorable OS was further confirmed by comparing to AML patients in TCGA database. In conclusion, adult AML-NUP98 is associated with cryptic translocations and an unfavorable outcome. Our study suggests that incorporating the NUP98 probe into AML FISH panels are warranted to improve clinical management.

Successful seroconversion against diphtheria and tetanus induced through maternal vaccination in a region of Colombia.

PURPOSE: This study aims to compare protection against diphtheria and tetanus conferred on the mother and the neonate before and after maternal vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap), transfer of antibodies, and the variables that could impact on the protection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study followed a cohort of 200 pregnant women from a region in Colombia, contacted during prenatal control before vaccination and upon delivery. The work determined immunoglobulin G antibodies against diphtheria and tetanus of pregnant women and umbilical cord. The proportion of protection, the geometric mean of the concentration, and the transfer of maternal antibodies were calculated. The protection profile of the pregnant women was explored by using multiple correspondence analysis. RESULTS: The concentration of antibodies against diphtheria was significant before and after vaccination of the pregnant women (p=0.000) with proportions of 85.0% and 97.5%, respectively, and of 98.6% in the umbilical cord, with significant antibody correlation (Spearman's coefficient=0.668, p=0.01). Sero-protection against tetanus before vaccination was at 71.0%, after at 92.6%, and in the umbilical cord at 95.9%, with significant antibody concentration before and after vaccination (p=0.000) and antibody correlation (Spearman's coefficient=0.936, p=0.01). Sero-protection was higher when the pregnant women were vaccine 8 to 11 weeks before delivery. Unprotected pregnant women were those not vaccinated during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The high proportion of protection against diphtheria and tetanus and the placental transfer support the need to promote maternal immunization with Tdap.

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 PCR-Based Detection Using Saliva or Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens in Asymptomatic Populations.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged clinical diagnostic operations due to supply shortages and high staffing needs to collect nasopharyngeal (NP) swab samples. Saliva is an easily accessible alternative specimen type to overcome some of these challenges. In this study, we first used paired saliva and NP swab specimens (n = 128) to compare test performance characteristics with three RNA extraction platforms, i.e., Maxwell RSC (Promega), MagNA Pure 96 (Roche), and KingFisher Flex (Thermo Fisher Scientific), together with two PCR chemistries, i.e., severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (2019-nCoV) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quantitative PCR (qPCR) probe assay (Integrated DNA Technologies) and TagPath COVID-19 combination kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). This study demonstrated that both saliva and NP swab specimens performed well, with 97% agreement when tested by the CDC qPCR chemistry using Maxwell and MagNA Pure RNA extraction platforms. We then compared 12 weeks of saliva and NP swab testing results using two independent asymptomatic populations, including a community surveillance program using saliva samples only (n = 466) and preoperative screening using NP swab samples only (n = 8,461). The positive detection rates among participants with either saliva or NP swab samples were 1.07% and 1.12%, respectively, which confirms the low pretest probabilities for COVID-19 infections in asymptomatic populations. Notably, there was no increased proportion of low-titer cases (inconclusive results) reported in the asymptomatic groups, compared with the all-comers groups (0.21% and 0.66%, respectively, in the community population and 0.25% and 0.49%, respectively, in the preoperative population); this suggests that low-viral-titer carriers can be found similarly in both groups with saliva or NP swab specimens. In summary, saliva can be considered a good alternative for noninvasive but well-instructed self-collection. IMPORTANCE Our study shows that saliva is a noninvasive respiratory secretion sample type that contains equal or more host materials (RNase P), compared with those contained in the corresponding NP swab specimens, in 103 paired samples. SARS-CoV-2 detection with two RNA extraction platforms, Maxwell and MagNA Pure, with CDC qPCR chemistry showed similar test sensitivities for paired specimens. We then analyzed SARS-CoV-2 detections rates in two independent groups of asymptomatic participants, i.e., a group at a community screening station with supervised saliva collection only (n = 466) and a preoperative screening group (n = 8,461) with NP swabbing only. Similar detection rates of 1.07% for the community group and 1.12% for the preoperative group supported the similar test performances in these groups predicted to have low pretest probabilities of infection. With mindful preparation, saliva can be considered for schools and clinical participants when adequate collection education can be provided and compliance can be established.