325 research outputs found
Factors Associated with D-Dimer Levels in HIV-Infected Individuals
No full textBackground: Higher plasma D-dimer levels are strong predictors of mortality in HIV+ individuals. The factors associated with D-dimer levels during HIV infection, however, remain poorly understood.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants in three randomized controlled trials with measured D-dimer levels were included (N = 9,848). Factors associated with D-dimer were identified by linear regression. Covariates investigated were: age, gender, race, body mass index, nadir and baseline CD4(+) count, plasma HIV RNA levels, markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6]), antiretroviral therapy (ART) use, ART regimens, co-morbidities (hepatitis B/C, diabetes mellitus, prior cardiovascular disease), smoking, renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] and cystatin C) and cholesterol.
Results: Women from all age groups had higher D-dimer levels than men, though a steeper increase of D-dimer with age occurred in men. Hepatitis B/C co-infection was the only co-morbidity associated with higher D-dimer levels. In this subgroup, the degree of hepatic fibrosis, as demonstrated by higher hyaluronic acid levels, but not viral load of hepatitis viruses, was positively correlated with D-dimer. Other factors independently associated with higher D-dimer levels were black race, higher plasma HIV RNA levels, being off ART at baseline, and increased levels of CRP, IL-6 and cystatin C. In contrast, higher baseline CD4+ counts and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were negatively correlated with D-dimer levels.
Conclusions: D-dimer levels increase with age in HIV+ men, but are already elevated in women at an early age due to reasons other than a higher burden of concomitant diseases. In hepatitis B/C co-infected individuals, hepatic fibrosis, but not hepatitis viral load, was associated with higher D-dimer levels
ESPRIT study, analysis of the results of the pre-intervention survey in upper secondary schools
No full textBackground
Sexually transmitted infections are a major public health problem, and their number is increasing in Italy. However, affective sexuality education is not yet part of the curricula. Therefore, a project entitled ESPRIT was launched, involving 3 regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio and Sicily), the IRCSS ‘Burlo Garofolo’ and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, and implemented with the technical and financial support of the Ministry of Health - CCM.
Methods
A multicenter prospective intervention study was designed involving public upper secondary school students (grade 10-11). All target groups completed a KAP (knowledge, attitude, practice) questionnaire before and after participation in the educational intervention to measure its effectiveness. The questionnaires from the first phase were collected between January and April 2024, and the results were analyzed using R statistical software.
Results
The analysis of the overall results (463 students in total; female 58%, male 39%, other 2%; FVG 49%, Lazio 25%, Sicily 26%) showed that the group of upper secondary school students, targeted by peer education answered the knowledge part correctly by 56.6±13.8% on average. Applying the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the percentage was significantly higher for females than males (p-value=0.005) and for licei students compared to technical and vocational schools (p-value=0.000). In terms of to attitudes, only 17% of students talked at length about sexually transmitted infections, and in 86.6% of cases, the interlocutors were friends or peers.
Conclusions
The results of the first phase show differences between the sexes and between the different types of educational institutions. The current level of knowledge still leaves much room for intervention and improvement. Analyzing the results of the follow-up phase will allow us to understand the effectiveness of the peer education intervention.
Key messages
• Adolescents’ knowledge of sexually transmitted infections needs to be improved.
• Gender and the type of school attended affect the level of knowledge
Severity of cardiovascular disease outcomes among patients with hiv is related to markers of inflammation and coagulation
No full textBackground: In the general population, raised levels of inflammatory markers are stronger predictors of fatal than nonfatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. People with HIV have elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and D-dimer; HIV-induced activation of inflammatory and coagulation pathways may be responsible for their greater risk of CVD. Whether the enhanced inflammation and coagulation associated with HIV is associated with more fatal CVD events has not been investigated. Methods and Results: Biomarkers were measured at baseline for 9764 patients with HIV and no history of CVD. Of these patients, we focus on the 288 that experienced either a fatal (n=74) or nonfatal (n=214) CVD event over a median of 5 years. Odds ratios (ORs) (fatal versus nonfatal CVD) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) associated with a doubling of IL-6, D-dimer, hsCRP, and a 1-unit increase in an IL-6 and D-dimer score, measured a median of 2.6 years before the event, were 1.39 (1.07 to 1.79), 1.40 (1.10 to 1.78), 1.09 (0.93 to 1.28), and 1.51 (1.15 to 1.97), respectively. Of the 214 patients with nonfatal CVD, 23 died during follow-up. Hazard ratios (95% CI) for all-cause mortality were 1.72 (1.28 to 2.31), 1.73 (1.27 to 2.36), 1.44 (1.15 to 1.80), and 1.88 (1.39 to 2.55), respectively, for IL-6, D-dimer, hsCRP, and the IL-6 and D-dimer score. Conclusions: Higher IL-6 and D-dimer levels reflecting enhanced inflammation and coagulation associated with HIV are associated with a greater risk of fatal CVD and a greater risk of death after a nonfatal CVD event. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrial.gov Unique identifier: SMART: NCT00027352, ESPRIT: NCT00004978, SILCAAT: NCT00013611
Esprit de She Brand Analysis Research Study
No full textabstract: The Athleta Esprit de She is a national women's racing series owned and produced by Life Time Athletic Events, a branch of the company Life Time Fitness. Esprit de She (EDS) has fourteen events per year in areas ranging from Minneapolis, MN to San Diego, CA. These events include 5K/10K runs, triathlons, duathlons, and cycle tours. The purpose of this study was to determine recommendations for the brand from both a marketing and event production standpoint. Through the use of a survey, the research team received participant feedback regarding the events. Once receiving participant survey responses, the research team used Importance-Performance Analysis to analyze the data. The goals of the study were to see how participants perceive the production of the event as well as the social media presence of the brand. Participants also provided insights as to whether or not they are ready to accept a greater challenge with a longer distance race. The overall aim of this study was to see what changes needed to be made to both the brand as well as the events themselves in order to improve the overall customer experience with Esprit de She
Globalization, Social Movements, and the Construction of Europe: The Example of the European Parliament Elections in France, CES Working Paper, no. 74, August 2000
No full textThough social scientists have lately devoted themselves to the study of globalization (Waters 1995; Hirst and Thompson 1999), most of these studies have concentrated on its economic and social consequences. Globalization is often seen as a fundamentally unjust process that causes confusion and destroys more than it creates. In many areas, the substantive implications of globalization are left untouched. In this paper, I examine the link between regional integration in Western Europe and the transformation of domestic politics through the example of the European Parliament elections. I argue that globalization through European integration is having a significant impact on French domestic politics. More precisely, the elections to the European Parliament, a supranational political institution, have contributed to the political mobilization of traditionally voiceless groups such as the unemployed and to the introduction into public discussion of new issues tied to Europe, transforming political culture and the relationship between national politics and multinational bargaining (Keohane and Hoffmann 1990, 295). Not only has European political integration provided marginal groups in France with an access to national politics through European Parliament elections, it has also supplied the government and the presidency with new resources, connecting them to trans-European circles and networks that are developing their own political culture. The success of neoliberal economic doctrines in the European Union may have in part to do with these networks. National ministers spend half their time wrestling with European affairs in the Council of Ministers of the European Union and in transnational party structures, developing a common culture and outlook on politics and economics. The main ingredients for this Weltanschauung are well known: electoral cycles should not interfere with economic policy and unemployment figures should not have priority over other monetary indices in the evaluation of economic and political success
Esprit '91. Proceedings of the annual Esprit conference. Brussels, 25-29 November 1991. EUR 13853 EN
No full textSeverity of cardiovascular disease outcomes among patients with HIV is related to markers of inflammation and coagulation
No full textBACKGROUND: In the general population, raised levels of inflammatory markers are stronger predictors of fatal than nonfatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. People with HIV have elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and D-dimer; HIV-induced activation of inflammatory and coagulation pathways may be responsible for their greater risk of CVD. Whether the enhanced inflammation and coagulation associated with HIV is associated with more fatal CVD events has not been investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Biomarkers were measured at baseline for 9764 patients with HIV and no history of CVD. Of these patients, we focus on the 288 that experienced either a fatal (n=74) or nonfatal (n=214) CVD event over a median of 5 years. Odds ratios (ORs) (fatal versus nonfatal CVD) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) associated with a doubling of IL-6, D-dimer, hsCRP, and a 1-unit increase in an IL-6 and D-dimer score, measured a median of 2.6 years before the event, were 1.39 (1.07 to 1.79), 1.40 (1.10 to 1.78), 1.09 (0.93 to 1.28), and 1.51 (1.15 to 1.97), respectively. Of the 214 patients with nonfatal CVD, 23 died during follow-up. Hazard ratios (95% CI) for all-cause mortality were 1.72 (1.28 to 2.31), 1.73 (1.27 to 2.36), 1.44 (1.15 to 1.80), and 1.88 (1.39 to 2.55), respectively, for IL-6, D-dimer, hsCRP, and the IL-6 and D-dimer score. CONCLUSIONS: Higher IL-6 and D-dimer levels reflecting enhanced inflammation and coagulation associated with HIV are associated with a greater risk of fatal CVD and a greater risk of death after a nonfatal CVD event. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL: http://www.clinicaltrial.gov Unique identifier: SMART: NCT00027352, ESPRIT: NCT00004978, SILCAAT: NCT00013611
Deinstitutionalization as a cumulative process: the role of successive struggles in the case of a "magic mineral".
No full textRelying on the case of asbestos in France, we study a deinstitutionalization process as a result of successive and cumulative struggles. There are competing interests in specific institutional arrangements. Actors who want to disrupt institutions have to face with other actors who benefit from the existing order. We emphasize the longitudinal role of these struggles and depict deinstitutionalization as a process that is achieved over a long period. Most struggles do not succeed in disrupting a practice but produce residues that slightly change rules, beliefs, cognitive schemes and practices. We explore the longitudinal evolution of discourse from 1920 to 1997 concerning asbestos and analyze the impacts of successive struggles. In that way, we explain changes that are reflected by discourse. Discourse analysis partially relies here on Prospéro, a piece of software devoted to the exploration of texts produced in a contestation context.Deinstitutionalization process, institutional theory
From micro level actions to deinstitutionalisation: the case of asbestos in France
No full textThis study explores the deinstitutionalisation of asbestos in France from 1970 to 1997. While many institutional studies emphasize the role of external jolts or crisis to explain change and disruption, we focus the analysis on the succession of actions achieved by different individuals and organizations over a long period. In addition to this, we observe the macro-evolution of the regulative, normative and cognitive dimensions underlying the use of asbestos. Exploring the interaction between the macro and the micro levels, we attempt to identify some characteristics of actions which have the strongest potential of institutional disruption. Our findings illustrate that neutral actors play a very important role in this process. Besides, institutional efforts at a micro level are captured in momentums which have more impact on institutions. Centrality in the field does not appear as a significant factor of deinstitutionalisation and we show also that iterative-agency based actions also contribute to deinstitutionalization process.deinstitutionalisation, institutional studies
Engine for rural development in Latin America : "now we see things - our minds have been woken up"
No full textFrench version available in IDRC Digital Library: Point de départ pour le développement rural en Amérique latine : "désormais, nous voyons vraiment les choses - notre esprit s'est éveillé"Spanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Motor del desarrollo rural en América Latina : "ahora vemos las cosas – nuestras mentes han despertado"Resource-poor farmers all across Latin America are finding a new way to increase
productivity and improve their livelihoods — they’re forming committees. These
local agricultural research committees, or CIALs to use their Spanish acronym,
are part learning centre, part community association, and part experimental
research group. They have evolved as a platform for evaluating, adapting, and
disseminating new technology. In addition, the committees have become an
engine for rural development initiatives such as the formation of credit and
marketing groups. They offer the promise of a better life for poor hillside farmers
throughout the region. But success sometimes comes at a price
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