The effect of Brucella abortus on glial activation and cell death in adult male rat's hippocampus.

A zoonotic disease called brucellosis can cause flu-like symptoms and heart inflammation. The bacteria responsible for this disease can also enter the brain, causing a condition called neurobrucellosis that can result in long-term neurological problems. In this study, researchers aimed to determine the changes in the hippocampal cells of rats infected with Brucella. For the study, 24 adult male albino rats were inoculated with 1 × 106 CFU Brucella abortus 544. The rats were then deeply anesthetized, and their hippocampus samples were taken for stereological, histological, and molecular studies. The results showed that the infected rats had increased microgliosis and astrogliosis. Furthermore, a high level of caspase-3 in their hippocampal tissue indicated their susceptibility to apoptosis. Additionally, there was a decrease in expression of Ki67, which further supported this. Sholl's analysis confirmed a significant failure in glial morphology. The study demonstrated that the pathogen has the ability to destroy the hippocampus and potentially affect its normal physiology. However, more research is needed to clarify various aspects of neurobrucellosis.

Bromelain decreases oxidative stress and Neuroinflammation and improves motor function in adult male rats with cerebellar Ataxia induced by 3-acetylpyridine.

Bromelain is a plant-based molecule with antioxidant, antithrombotic, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Bromelain has been shown to reduce the release of inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to determine whether bromelain can prevent ataxia in rats caused by 3-acetylpyridine (3-AP). Thirty-six albino rats were divided into the control, 3-AP, and 3-AP + Brom groups. In the 3-AP + Brom group, bromelain was injected intraperitoneally at 40 mg/kg daily for 30 days. Various techniques such as rotarod, electromyography (EMG), elevated plus maze, IHC, and Sholl analysis were used to evaluate the possible effects of bromelain on cerebellar neurons and glial cells. The results demonstrated significant improvements in most of the 3-AP + Brom, including motor coordination, neuromuscular response, anxiety, oxidative capacity, microgliosis, astrogliosis, cell death, and morphological variables compared to the 3-AP group. The mechanism of action of bromelain in restoring cerebellar ataxia needs further investigation, but it may be a candidate to help restore degeneration in animals with ataxia.

Dental stem cells improve memory and reduce cell death in rat seizure model.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that significantly affects the quality of life of patients. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) transplantation in decreasing inflammation and cell death in brain cells, thus reducing seizure damage. We induced seizures in rats using intraperitoneal injections of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). In the PTZ + DPSC group, we conducted bilateral hippocampal transplantation of DPSCs in PTZ-lesioned rat models. After 1 month, we performed post-graft analysis and measured some behavioral factors, such as working memory and long-term memory, using a T-maze test and passive avoidance test, respectively. We investigated the immunohistopathology and distribution of astrocyte cells through light microscopy and Sholl analysis. Additionally, we employed the Voronoi tessellation method to estimate the spatial distribution of the cells in the hippocampus. Compared to the control group, we observed a reduction in astrogliosis, astrocyte process length, the number of branches, and intersections distal to the soma in the hippocampus of the PTZ + DPSC group. Further analysis indicated that the grafted DPSCs decreased the expression of caspase-3 in the hippocampus of rats with induced seizures. Moreover, the DPSCs transplant protected hippocampal pyramidal neurons against PTZ toxicity and improved the spatial distribution of the hippocampal neurons. Our findings suggest that DPSCs transplant can be an effective modifier of astrocyte reactivation and inflammatory responses.

Memory loss induced by lisdexamfetamine in the rat: A behavioral, electrophysiological, and histopathological Study.

Lisdexamfetamine (LDX) is one of the drugs commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, its neurological side effects, particularly on cognition, are not fully understood. The present study focused on memory in rats treated with four weeks of LDX injection. We compared LDX-treated rats with control ones, using several methods to evaluate the behavioral responses and electrophysiological, molecular, and histological properties in the hippocampus. Our findings demonstrated that subchronic administration of LDX impaired behavioral performance in all memory assessment tests (Y maze, Morris Water Maze, and Shuttle box). Although LDX did not alter population spike (PS) amplitude, it increased the field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope of evoked potentials of LTP components. Also, in addition to an increase in expression of caspase-3 in the hippocampus, which indicates the susceptibility to apoptosis in LDX-treated rats, the number of microglia and astrocytes went up significantly in the LDX group. Moreover, Sholl's analysis showed an increase in the soma size and total process length in both hippocampal astrocytes and microglia. Overall, because of these destructive effects of LDX on the hippocampus, which is one of the critical memory-related areas of the brain, the findings of this investigation provide evidence to show the disruption of memory-related variables following the LDX. However, more research is needed to clarify it.

3-acetylpyridine induced behavioral dysfunction and neuronal loss in the striatum and hippocampus of adult male rats.

3-acetylpyridine (3-AP) is a neurotoxin that is known to mainly affect the inferior olivary nucleus (ION) in the brain stem. Although several studies have explored the effect of this neurotoxin, still further investigation is required to understand the impact of this toxin on different parts of the brain. In this research, two groups of rats were studied, the 3-AP-treated and the control groups. Behavioral, stereological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. The locomotor activity of the 3-AP-treated rats decreased whereas their anxiety levels were higher than in normal controls. Also, memory performance was impaired in animals in the 3-AP group. Microscopic observations showed a decline in the numerical density of neurons in the hippocampus and striatum along with gliosis. Although this toxin is used to affect the ION, it exerts a neurotoxic effect on different brain regions.

The elderberry diet protection against intrahippocampal Aß-induced memory dysfunction; the abrogated apoptosis and neuroinflammation.

This study evaluates whether elderberry (EB) effectively decreases the inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain cells to reduce Aß toxicity. In the Aß + EB group, EB powder was added to rats' routine diet for eight consecutive weeks. Then, spatial memory, working memory, and long-term memory, were measured using the Morris water maze, T-maze, and passive avoidance test. Also, in this investigation immunohistopathology, distribution of hippocampal cells, and gene expression was carried out. Voronoi tessellation method was used to estimate the spatial distribution of the cells in the hippocampus. In addition to improving the memory functions of rats with Aß toxicity, a reduction in astrogliosis and astrocytes process length and the number of branches and intersections distal to the soma was observed in their hippocampus compared to the control group. Further analysis indicated that the EB diet decreased the caspase-3 expression in the hippocampus of rats with Aß toxicity. Also, EB protected hippocampal pyramidal neurons against Aß toxicity and improved the spatial distribution of the hippocampal neurons. Moreover, EB decreased the expression of inflammatory and apoptotic genes. Overall, our study suggest that EB can be considered a potent modifier of astrocytes' reactivation and inflammatory responses.

Exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol leads to a rise in caspase-3, morphological changes in microglial, and astrocyte reactivity in the cerebellum of rats.

The present study aimed to elucidate the effect of 10 mg/kg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on cerebellar neuronal and glial morphology, apoptosis and inflammatory gene expression using a series of histological assays including stereology, Sholl analysis, immunofluorescence and real-time qPCR in male Wistar rats. A decrease in the number of Purkinje neurons and the thickness of the granular layer in the cerebellum was reported in THC-treated rats. Increased expression of Iba-1 and arborization of microglial processes were evidence of microgliosis and morphological changes in microglia. In addition, astrogliosis and changes in astrocyte morphology were other findings associated with THC administration. THC also led to an increase in caspase-3 positive cells and a decrease in autophagy and inflammatory gene expression such as mTOR, BECN1 and LAMP2. However, there were no significant changes in the volume of molecular layers and white matter, the spatial arrangement of granular layers and white matter, or the spatial arrangement of granular layers and white matter in the cerebellum. Taken together, our data showed both neuroprotective and neurodegenerative properties of THC in the cerebellum, which require further study in the future.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of elderberry diet in the rat model of seizure: a behavioral and histological investigation on the hippocampus.

The present study was designed to evaluate whether elderberry (EB) effectively reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in hippocampal cells to modify seizure damage. Seizure was induced in rats by the injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). In the Seizure + EB group, EB powder was added to the rats' routine diet for eight consecutive weeks. The study included several behavioral tests, immunohistopathology, Voronoi tessellation (to estimate the spatial distribution of cells in the hippocampus), and Sholl analysis. The results in the Seizure + EB group showed an improvement in the behavioral aspects of the study, a reduction in astrogliosis, astrocyte process length, number of branches, and intersections distal to the soma in the hippocampus of rats compared to controls. Further analysis showed that EB diet increased nuclear factor-like 2 expression and decreased caspase-3 expression in the hippocampus in the Seizure + EB group. In addition, EB protected hippocampal pyramidal neurons from PTZ toxicity and improved the spatial distribution of hippocampal neurons in the pyramidal layer and dentate gyrus. The results of the present study suggest that EB can be considered a potent modifier of astrocyte reactivation and inflammatory responses.

Grafted Sertoli cells prevent neuronal cell death and memory loss induced by seizures.

Epilepsy significantly reduces the patient's quality of life, and we still need to develop new therapeutic approaches to control it. Transplantation of cells such as Sertoli cells (SCs), having a potent ability to release a variety of growth and immunoprotective substances, have made them a potential candidate to deal with neurological diseases like epilepsy. Hence, this study aims to evaluate whether SCs transplant effectively protects the hippocampus astrocytes and neurons to oppose seizure damage. For this purpose, the effects of bilateral intrahippocampal transplantation of SCs were investigated on the rats with the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced seizure. After one-month, post-graft analysis was performed regarding behavior, immunohistopathology, and the distribution of the hippocampal cells. Our findings showed SCs transplantation reduced astrogliosis, astrocytes process length, the number of branches, and intersections distal to the soma of the hippocampus in the seizure group. In rats with grafted SCs, there was a drop in the hippocampal caspase-3 expression. Moreover, the SCs showed another protective impact, as shown by an improvement in pyramidal neurons' number and spatial distribution. The findings suggested that SCs transplantation can potently modify astrocytes' reactivation and inflammatory responses.

Elderberry diet improves gut-brain axis dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and cognitive impairment in the rat model of irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is related to a problem in the gut-brain axis. This experimental research aimed to shed light on the potential therapeutic application of elderberry (EB), which can work on the axis and get better the IBS symptoms. There were three groups (36 Sprague-Dawley rats) in this experiment, including control, IBS, and IBS with EB diet (IBS + EB). Making use of intracolonic instillation of 1 ml of 4% acetic acid for 30 s, IBS was induced. 7 days later, the EB extract (2%) was added to the diets of all animals for 8 weeks. Some histological, behavioral, and stereological techniques were used to detect the effects of EB on the gut and brain tissues. The findings showed that the EB diet improved locomotion and decreased anxiety-like behavior in the rat models of IBS. Moreover, the diet dropped the expression of TNF-α and increased mucosal layer thickness and the number of goblet and mast cells in colon tissue samples. In the hippocampal samples, administration of EB prevented astrogliosis and astrocyte reactivity. Although hippocampal and cortical neurons decreased markedly in the IBS group, EB prevented the drop in the number of neurons. Although lots of research is needed to elucidate the effectiveness of EB in IBS and its exact molecular mechanism, the result of this study showed that EB as an antioxidant and immune-modulatory agent could be a promising research target to prevent the impairment in the gut-brain axis, and could ameliorative classic IBS symptoms.

Quality of life and its correlated factors among patients with substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with substance use disorder (SUD) usually report lower quality of life (QoL) than other patients and as much as patients with other mental disorders. The present study investigated variables associated with QoL domains among patients with SUD. METHODS: Studies in English published before December 1st 2021, were searched for on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on factors associated with QoL domains among patients with SUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-texts of selected papers were assessed for eligibility using PECO (Participants, Exposures, Comparison and Outcome) criteria: (a) participants: patients with SUD; (b) exposures: sociodemographic factors, clinical, and service use variables; (c) comparison: patient groups without SUD; and (d) outcomes: four domains of QoL (physical, mental, social, and environmental domains). Three researchers recorded the data independently using predefined Excel spreadsheets. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used for assessing risk of bias and rated each study in terms of exposure, outcome, and comparability. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and ß coefficient were utilized at a 95% confidence level, and because sampling methods differed between studies' pooled estimates, a random effects model was utilized. RESULTS: After the assessment of over 10,230 papers, a total of 17 studies met the eligibility criteria. Five studies (1260 participants) found that patients with SUD who were older were less likely to have a good physical Qol (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.78, 0.95). Two studies (1171 participants) indicated that patients with SUD who were homeless were less likely to have a good environmental Qol (ß = -0.47, p = 0.003). However, a better mental QoL was observed in four studies (1126 participants) among those receiving support from their family or friends (social networks) (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.07). Two studies (588 participants) showed that those using cocaine were less likely to have a good mental QoL (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.75, 0.93). Two studies (22,534 participants) showed that those using alcohol were less likely to have a good physical QoL (ß = -2.21, p = 0.001). Two studies (956 participants) showed that those having severe substance use disorders were less likely to have a good mental (ß = -5.44, p = 0.002) and environmental (ß = -0.59, p = 0.006) QoL respectively. Four studies (3515 participants) showed that those having mental disorders were less likely to have a good physical QoL (ß = -1.05, p = 0.001), and another three studies (1211 participants) that those having mental disorders were less likely to have a good mental QoL (ß = -0.33, p = 0.001). Finally, two studies (609 and 682 participants) showed that individuals who experienced trauma symptoms or mental disorders were less likely to have good social and environmental QoL, respectively (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.61, 1.00) and (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.9, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the need for mental health services to improve the QOL among patients with SUD but further study is needed. Cocaine may cause behavioral changes which can increase the possibility of reckless and suicidal behaviors. Therefore, identifying cocaine user access, adherence, and satisfaction with treatment is recommended as an important component of adaptive functioning. Interventions that help patients with SUD get support from people within their social networks who support their recovery are also essential to their QoL.

COVID-19 causes neuronal degeneration and reduces neurogenesis in human hippocampus.

Recent investigations of COVID-19 have largely focused on the effects of this novel virus on the vital organs in order to efficiently assist individuals who have recovered from the disease. In the present study we used hippocampal tissue samples extracted from people who died after COVID-19. Utilizing histological techniques to analyze glial and neuronal cells we illuminated a massive degeneration of neuronal cells and changes in glial cells morphology in hippocampal samples. The results showed that in hippocampus of the studied brains there were morphological changes in pyramidal cells, an increase in apoptosis, a drop in neurogenesis, and change in spatial distribution of neurons in the pyramidal and granular layer. It was also demonstrated that COVID-19 alter the morphological characteristics and distribution of astrocyte and microglia cells. While the exact mechanism(s) by which the virus causes neuronal loss and morphology in the central nervous system (CNS) remains to be determined, it is necessary to monitor the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on CNS compartments like the hippocampus in future investigations. As a result of what happened in the hippocampus secondary to COVID-19, memory impairment may be a long-term neurological complication which can be a predisposing factor for neurodegenerative disorders through neuroinflammation and oxidative stress mechanisms.

Prevalence, socio-demographics and service use determinants associated with disclosure of HIV/AIDS status to infected children: a systematic review and meta-analysis by 1985-2021.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a public health issue of global importance. To our knowledge, no previous meta-analysis documenting the prevalence, socio-demographic, and service use determinants associated with HIV/AIDS disclosure to infected children has been conducted. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence, socio-demographics and service use determinants associated with the disclosure of HIV/AIDS status to infected children. METHODS: Studies in English published between 01 January 1985 and 01 November 2021, and available on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases were searched. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: After article duplicates were excluded, assessments of abstracts were completed, and full-text papers evaluated, 37 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The prevalence of the disclosure of HIV status to children was measured to be 41% in this research. The odds that a child of 10 years and older is informed that they are HIV-positive is 3.01 time the odds that younger children are informed. Those children who had primary or lower schooling level were 2.41 times more likely to be informed of their HIV-positive status than children with higher levels of schooling. Children who had a non-biological parents were 3.17 times more likely to have been disclose being HIV-positive; social support (OR = 8.29, 95%CI = 2.34, 29.42), children who had higher levels of social supports were 8.29 times more likely to disclose HIV-positive; the primary educational level of caregivers (OR = 2.03, 95%CI = 1.43, 2.89), respondents who had caregivers with primary education level were 2.03 times more likely to disclose HIV-positive; antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence (OR = 2.59, 95%CI = 1.96, 3.42), participants who adhered to ART were 2.59 times more likely to disclose HIV-positive and hospital follow-up (OR = 2.82, 95%CI = 1.85, 4.29), those who had hospital follow-up were 2.82 times more likely to disclose HIV-positive; were all significantly associated with the disclosure of HIV/AIDS status to infected children. CONCLUSION: Such data are of importance for healthcare pediatrics HIV care professionals. Facilitating HIV diagnosis and disclosure to the infected children and ensuring access to HIV treatment will likely prevent secondary HIV transmission. Healthcare professionals are expected to provide age-appropriate counseling services to this population.

Identification of miR-195-5p as a novel prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence indicated that transcription patterns of microRNAs could be used as promising biomarkers for numerous cancers. It is stated that miR-195-5p could be used as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of the current work was to explore the transcription level of miR-195-5p and its clinical relevance in CRC patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to assess the tumor tissue sample of 140 CRC cases compared with normal adjacent tissue for the transcription of miR-195-5p and the clinicopathological relevance was statistically evaluated. We showed that tumor tissue miR-195-5p transcription was statistically downregulated in patients with CRC (median expression value 0.23, range 0.03-6.62) compared to normal adjacent tissue (median expression value 0.98, range 0.092-29.6, p < 0.001). The median transcription of miR-195-5p divided the CRC patients into miR-195-5p low-transcription (miR-195-5plow) and miR-195-5p high-transcription (miR-195-5phigh) groups. Furthermore, low miR-195-5p transcription level was statistically related with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and tumor differentiation in CRC patients (all p-value < 0.05). Moreover, our results indicated that CRC cases with a decreased transcription level of miR-195-5p displayed a statistically shorter overall survival (OS) (p = 0.001) compared to higher miR-195-5p transcription. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the finding proposes that miR-195-5p might be a valuable biomarker and a prognostic factor for CRC in the future.

HIV related stigma associated with social support, alcohol use disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among people living with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Stigma is a social phenomenon known to have a negative impact on the lives of people living with HIV (PLWH). However, defining HIV-related stigma (HRS) is difficult because of the intersection it has with structural inequalities, and cultural differences, discrimination by health care providers that measure stigma among PLWH. HIV/AIDS has been characterized as a traumatic experience and PLWH may experience stigma which can cause negative mental health disorders and experiences, including emotional distress, shame, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation. A systematic review of the evidence on the mental disorders of PLWH is currently lacking. This study aimed to analyze the association between HRS and social support, alcohol use disorders and mental health disorders and experiences (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation) among PLWH. METHODS: In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) this study searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of sciences, PsycInfo, SciELO and Cochrane library electronic databases to identify publications between January 1992 and August 2020 that discussed social support, alcohol use disorders, mental health disorders and experiences (i.e., depression and anxiety and suicidal ideation) associated with HRS. Pooled Odds Ratios (ORs) were utilized at a 95% confidence level, and as sampling methods differed between articles pooled estimates used a random effects model. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies with 9548 participants met the eligibility criteria. No association was observed between HRS and alcohol use disorders. PLWH who had higher levels of social supports were less likely to report HRS. Participants who had been diagnosed with anxiety were 1.89 times more likely to report HRS, while those diagnosed with depression were 1.61 times more. Respondents who reported suicidal ideation also were 1.83 times more likely to report HRS. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis supports that HRS has a detrimental association with anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, but social support protects again HRS in PLWH. Applying interventions which focus on the mental health disorders of PLWH may decrease HRS. Provision of social support by practitioners, combined with mental health treatment and assessments, and designing methods to identify stigma at different stages of illness are warranted.

Drug type and risk behaviors associated with non-fatal overdose among people who use drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to determine the association between drug type, risk behaviors and non-fatal overdose among people who use drugs (PWUD). We searched for studies in English published before February 1, 2021, on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on the factors associated with non-fatal overdose among PWUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. After a detailed assessment of over 13,845 articles, a total of 49 studies met the eligibility criteria. We found that non-injection opioid use, heroin injection, cocaine use, concurrent use of buprenorphine and benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine use, incarceration, injecting drugs, and duration of injecting were associated with greater odds of non-fatal overdose among PWUD. The findings of the current meta-analysis support the requirement to improve suitable harm reduction strategies for drug users, such as peer-based overdose management, and further focusing on the need to balance the current emphasis on enforcement-based responses to illegal drug use with health-related interventions.

Insulin replacement prevents the acquisition but not the expression of morphine-induced conditioned place preference in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Insulin receptors have distributed in all brain regions, including the nucleus Accumbens (NAc), and where is implicated in the reward properties of drugs. It is well known that insulin signaling can regulate dopamine release. Therefore, in the present study, we tried to examine the effect of insulin replacement on the acquisition and expression of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in diabetic rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into two non-diabetic (Naïve) and diabetic groups rendered by a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ). These groups separately received insulin (10U/kg) or saline (1 ml/kg) one hour prior to morphine administration (5mg/kg;s.c.) during conditioning days (acquisition phase) or post-conditioning day (expression phase) in the CPP paradigm. In this paradigm, conditioning score (CS) and locomotion activity were recorded by Ethovision. The STZ-induced diabetic rats displayed higher CS compared to naïve rats (P<0.05). This effect was abolished in all diabetic rats that received insulin during conditioning days but not the expression phase. This study has provided evidence that insulin plays a modulatory role in morphine-induced CPP, and insulin replacement during the acquisition phase could reduce the rewarding properties of morphine in diabetes conditions through a possible modulating effect on dopamine release in the NAc region

Socio-demographic, clinical and service use determinants associated with HIV related stigma among people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Defining HIV-related stigma (HRS) can be problematic due to structural inequalities, cultural differences, discrimination by health care providers and the limitations of tools measuring stigma for people living with HIV (PLWH). This meta-analysis aimed to determine self-reported HRS and its association with socio-demographic and clinical determinants. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, SciELO and Cochrane electronic databases were searched and after reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Thirty-one studies containing 10,475 participants met the eligibility criteria. Among the potential risk factors: age > 30 years (OR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.86, 1), living with a spouse (OR = 0.07, 95%CI = 0.02, 0.17), CD4 count < 200 (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.68), medication adherence (OR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.94, 0.99), poor access to care (OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.65, 0.93), time since diagnosis, and accessibility to care (OR = 0.37, 95%CI = 0.11, 0.86) were all significantly associated with self-reported HIV stigma among PWLH. CONCLUSION: Stigma is correlated with numerous negative consequences in marginalised populations including PLWH. Considering the negative association that stigma has on HIV prevention and treatment targeted evidence-based stigma reduction interventions are recommended. Interventions that are focused on a particular group, such as healthcare professionals are warranted. Rigorously designed studies with specific and validated outcome measures associated with targeted interventions may help to improve the reduction of HRS for PLWH.

Extended Gibbs Free Energy and Laplace Pressure of Ordered Hexagonal Close-Packed Spherical Particles: A Wettability Study.

The wetting property of spherical particles in a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) ordering from extended Gibbs free energy (GFE) and Laplace pressure view points is studied. A formalism is proposed to predict the contact angle (θ) of a droplet on the HCP films and penetration angle (α) of the liquid on the spherical particles. Then, the extended Laplace pressure for the layered HCP ordering is calculated and a correlation between the wetting angle, sign of pressure, and pressure gradient is achieved. Our results show that the sign and the slope of pressure are important criteria for determining the wettability state and it is found that the contact angle is independent of the particle radius, as supported by various experimental reports. The pressure gradient for the HCP films with Young contact angle higher than (lower than) a critical contact angle, 135° (45°), is positive (negative), indicating the superhydrophobicity (superhydrophilicity) state of the surface. To validate the proposed formulation, theoretical calculations are compared with the reported experimental measurements, showing a good agreement.

Prevalence, sociodemographic variables, mental health condition, and type of drug use associated with suicide behaviors among people with substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We assessed the prevalence, sociodemographic variables, mental health condition, and type of drug use associated with suicide behaviors among patients with substance use disorders (SUD). Studies in English published from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2020 were searched on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science to identify studies on variables associated with suicidal behaviors (ideations and attempts) among patients with SUD. After reviewing for study duplicates, the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria: (i) population: patients with SUD; (ii) intervention: suicide behaviors in the past year; (iii) comparator: SUD who had not suicide behaviors; (iv) outcome: suicide ideations or attempts in the last year; and (v) study type: cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies. Out of 10,810 articles, 48 studies met eligibility criteria. Our findings showed a pooled prevalence rate of suicide ideations of 35% (95% CI, 22% 48%) and suicide attempts of 20% (95% CI, 17% 23%) in the last year among patients with SUD. Smoking, previous history of sexual abuse, depression, and alcohol and cannabis use disorders were significantly associated with suicide ideations. Study findings also showed that being female, smoking, history of physical and sexual abuse, depression and alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine use disorders, and polysubstance abuse were significantly associated with suicide attempts among patients with SUD. These findings have implications for developing prevention programs. Appropriate initiatives for reducing the risk of suicide behaviors like systematic assessments of changes in drug use pattern at the emergency departments or at other key health providers may be more broadly implemented. Motivational therapy to improve help-seeking, increased information on adverse consequences of heavy substance use, and crisis plan resolutions to face suicide behaviors could also be consolidated.