Sex and gender differences in hepatitis C virus risk, prevention, and cascade of care in people who inject drugs: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a priority population in HCV elimination programming. Overcoming sex and gender disparities in HCV risk, prevention, and the cascade of care is likely to be important to achieving this goal, but these have not yet been comprehensively reviewed. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched Pubmed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1 January 2012-22 January 2024 for studies of any design reporting sex or gender differences among PWID in at least one of: sharing of needles and/or syringes, incarceration history, injection while incarcerated, participation in opioid agonist treatment or needle and syringe programs, HCV testing, spontaneous HCV clearance, direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment initiation or completion, and sustained virological response (SVR). Assessment of study quality was based on selected aspects of study design. Additional data were requested from study authors. Data were extracted in duplicate and meta-analysed using random effects models. PROSPERO registration CRD42022342806. Findings: 9533 studies were identified and 92 studies were included. Compared to men, women were at greater risk for receptive needle and syringe sharing (past 6-12 months: risk ratio (RR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.23; <6 months: RR 1.38; 95% CI 1.09-1.76), less likely to be incarcerated (lifetime RR 0.64; 95% CI 0.57-0.73) more likely to be tested for HCV infection (lifetime RR 1.07; 95% CI 1.01, 1.14), more likely to spontaneously clear infection (RR1.58; 95% CI 1.40-1.79), less likely to initiate DAA treatment (0.84; 95% CI 0.78-0.90), and more likely to attain SVR after completing DAA treatment (RR 1.02; 95% CI 1.01-1.04). Interpretation: There are important differences in HCV risk and cascade of care indicators among people who inject drugs that may impact the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programming. Developing and assessing the effectiveness of gender-specific and gender-responsive HCV interventions should be a priority in elimination programming. Funding: Réseau SIDA-MI du Québec.

Corrigendum: Effects of dietary nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed meals on growth, non-specific immune indices, antioxidant status, gene expression analysis, and cold stress tolerance in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1038748.].

Effects of dietary nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed meals on growth, non-specific immune indices, antioxidant status, gene expression analysis, and cold stress tolerance in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Introduction: A medicinal plant, Myristica fragrans seed meal (nutmeg), was utilized to evaluate its impact on the growth, immunity, and antioxidant defense of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Methods: In this regard, zebrafish (0.47 ± 0.04 g) (mean ± S.D.) were fed with 0% (control), 1% (T1-nutmeg), 2% (T2-nutmeg), and 3% (T3-nutmeg) of powdered nutmeg for 70 days. At the end of the feeding trial, growth performance, survival rate of fish, and temperature-challenge effects were recorded. Immune and antioxidant parameters were also assessed through the collection of serum and skin mucus samples. Results: The results indicated that nutmeg supplementation did not significantly influence the growth of zebrafish (P > 0.05); however, the survival rate of fish fed with 2 and 3% of nutmeg supplementation significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The skin mucus and serum total protein, total immunoglobulin (Ig), and lysozyme activity were significantly increased in T3-nutmeg treatment in comparison to the control (P < 0.05). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were also enhanced in the T3-nutmeg group (P < 0.05). Nutmeg supplementation significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of growth hormone (gh) and insulin growth factor-1 (igf-1). Moreover, the nutmeg inclusion upregulated the expression of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), lysozyme, sod, and cat. The dietary supplementation of nutmeg significantly increased the resistance of zebrafish against cold-water shock and survivability afterward (P < 0.05). Discussion: In conclusion, the supplementation of 3% powdered nutmeg in zebrafish diets could be suggested as an effective immune stimulator that improves antioxidant defense and stress tolerance.

HIV-1 Drug Resistance Profiles for the HIV Protease and Reverse Transcriptase Gene in Patients Receiving Combination Therapy in Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Determination of the drug-resistant mutations has a crucial role in the management of HIV-1 infected patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to evaluate drug resistance profile of Reverse transcriptase and Proteasegenes, and to find the correlation between drug resistance mutations and ART regimen to intensifyphysicians'options for the most effective therapy which could also influence the establishment of health-related policies at the national level in Iran. METHOD: HIV-1 RNA of 34 samples was extracted from plasma and RT Nested- PCR was performed and the final products were sequenced. Stanford HIV drug resistance sequence database was used for interpretation of the data. RESULTS: In 14 patients out of 15, the following mutations were observed; Nucleoside RT Inhibitor (NRTI)-Resistance Mutations with the prevalence of 11 patients having this mutation at codon 184 (73%) and Non-Nucleoside RT Inhibitor (NNRTI)-Resistance Mutations with the prevalence of 8 patients having NNRTI mutations at codon 103(53%).In 17 patients, major Protease Inhibitor (PI) Resistance Mutations were found out in 2 (12%) of them while the minor PI was found in7 (41%) patients. CONCLUSION: An antiretroviral treatment consisting of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor and protease inhibitor, impairs the emergence of a resistant strain and descends its prevalence among the community. Having a high rate mutation in participants of this study raises concerns about treatment failure in HIV infected people in Iran. Observing high mutations rates in participants of this study raises concerns about treatment failure in HIV infected people in Iran.

Impact of Hypericum Perforatum Ointment on Perineal Pain Intensity Following Episiotomy: a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Introduction: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Hypericum Perforatum ointment on perineal pain intensity following episiotomy among primiparous women. Methods This triple-blind clinical trial was performed on 98 eligible primiparous women referring to selected educational hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences for normal vaginal delivery. Block Randomization (in 1; 1 ratio) was used to categorize the participants continuously into two groups: intervention (using Hypericum Perforatum ointment) and control (using placebo ointment). Participants in each group used ointments (about 3 grams each time) on episiotomy site, twice a day and for a period of ten days. Our primary outcome was the pain intensity in different intervals following episiotomy. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 13) using student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test. Results: We missed 14 participants during the study and analyzed the data from 42 participants in each group. The mean of pain scores revealed no significant differences before (mean difference=-0.33; P=0.46) and four hours (mean difference=0.57; P=0.13) after ointments use, between the intervention and control groups, while these differences were significant after eight hours (mean difference=2.17; P<0.001), five days (mean difference=2.20; P<0.001) and ten days (mean difference=2.21; P<0.001) following the intervention. Conclusion: Using Hypericum Perforatum ointment as a noninvasive, simple and effective topical formulation, can significantly reduce pain intensity of episiotomy site.

The effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus as feed supplement on skin mucosal immune parameters, intestinal microbiota, stress resistance and growth performance of black swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri).

The present study evaluates the effects of different levels of dietary Lactobacillus acidophilus as feed supplement on intestinal microbiota, skin mucus immune parameters and salinity stress resistance as well as growth performance of black swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri). One-thousand and eight hundred healthy black swordtail larvae (0.03 ± 0.001 g) were randomly distributed in 12 tanks (100 L) at a density of 150 fish per aquaria and fed different levels of dietary L. acidophilus (0, 1.5 × 10(8), 3 × 10(8) and 6 × 10(8) CFU g(-1)) for 10 weeks. At the end of trial, there were significant differences among antibacterial activity of skin mucus in probiotic fed fish and control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the skin mucus protein level and alkaline phosphatase activity in control group were significantly lower than those of L. acidophilus fed fish (P < 0.05). Microbiological assessments revealed that feeding with probiotic supplemented diet remarkably increased total autochthonous bacteria and autochthonous lactic acid bacteria levels (P < 0.05). The results showed that dietary administration of L. acidophilus significantly elevated black swordtail resistance against salinity stress (i.e survival %) (P < 0.05). Also, dietary administration of different levels of L. acidophilus improved weight gain, SGR, FCR compared to fish fed unsupplemented diet (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate beneficial effects of dietary L. acidophilus on mucosal immune parameters, intestinal microbiota, stress resistance and growth parameters of black swordtail and the appropriate inclusion is 6 × 10(8) CFU g(-1).