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Oncology Letters Dec 2014Adrenocortical neoplasms (ACNs) are rare and poorly characterized in infants. The true incidence of ACNs is not well known and it appears to vary substantially across...
Adrenocortical neoplasms (ACNs) are rare and poorly characterized in infants. The true incidence of ACNs is not well known and it appears to vary substantially across different geographical areas. ACNs are more common in females and two peaks of incidence have been identified: The first year of life and between the age of nine and 16 years. Due to the heterogeneity and rarity of ACNs, their pathological and prognostic classification is challenging. The current study describes the case of a seven-year-old male, who presented to the Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Siena (Siena, Italy) with a feminization syndrome and increased somatic growth that was associated with a unilateral adrenal mass, which was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Surgical excision of the mass was performed and histological analysis determined that it was an ACN, with a low risk of malignity; however, the pathological classification of the tumor was challenging. At present, the future behavior of ACNs is unpredictable. Therefore, increasing the knowledge surrounding this type of tumor may aid in its diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Due to the rarity of pediatric ACNs, no single pediatric oncology center has acquired extensive experience treating this type of tumor. Thus, the initiation of an international tumor registry may aid with the management of patients presenting with ACNs.
PubMed: 25364453
DOI: 10.3892/ol.2014.2584 -
The Brazilian Journal of Infectious... 2015To understand the evolution of AIDS over time in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, using incidence, lethality, and mortality coefficients.
OBJECTIVE
To understand the evolution of AIDS over time in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, using incidence, lethality, and mortality coefficients.
METHODS
A descriptive epidemiological study based on time series analysis of secondary data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System reported between 1985 and 2012.
RESULTS
The prevalence of AIDS was higher among men, with evidence of feminization during the first 14 years of the epidemic. There was no statistically significant sex difference in AIDS lethality. Women were 1.3 times more likely to survive than men.
CONCLUSIONS
Gender differences must be considered when designing new HIV/AIDS prevention strategies.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Brazil; Disease Notification; Epidemics; Female; Humans; Incidence; Male; Prevalence; Sex Factors
PubMed: 26434805
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjid.2015.08.007 -
Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem Jun 2014The aim of this study was to know the meanings attributed by female health professionals to the process of caring for women with HIV, considering their vulnerability in...
The aim of this study was to know the meanings attributed by female health professionals to the process of caring for women with HIV, considering their vulnerability in the context of feminization of HIV/AIDS. It is a qualitative study based on the grounded theory method and symbolic interactionism, conducted in two public maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, from November 2009 to April 2010. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with twelve female health professionals. The core category that emerged was "Speaking as a Professional and Thinking about Caring" which focused on the meaning of care, and the integration of two categories, the first being the concerns of being a woman/professional caring for women with HIV and the second being the meanings of professional care provided to women with the virus. It was concluded that the professionals still maintained the former perception of HIV/AIDS, contributing to increased gender vulnerability to HIV, discrimination and prejudice.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Attitude of Health Personnel; Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Sex Factors
PubMed: 25158459
DOI: 10.1590/1983-1447.2014.02.41253 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Nov 2013The switch gene Sex-lethal (Sxl) was thought to elicit all aspects of Drosophila female somatic differentiation other than size dimorphism by controlling only the switch...
The switch gene Sex-lethal (Sxl) was thought to elicit all aspects of Drosophila female somatic differentiation other than size dimorphism by controlling only the switch gene transformer (tra). Here we show instead that Sxl controls an aspect of female sexual behavior by acting on a target other than or in addition to tra. We inferred the existence of this unknown Sxl target from the observation that a constitutively feminizing tra transgene that restores fertility to tra(-) females failed to restore fertility to Sxl-mutant females that were adult viable but functionally tra(-). The sterility of these mutant females was caused by an ovulation failure. Because tra expression is not sufficient to render these Sxl-mutant females fertile, we refer to this pathway as the tra-insufficient feminization (TIF) branch of the sex-determination regulatory pathway. Using a transgene that conditionally expresses two Sxl feminizing isoforms, we find that the TIF branch is required developmentally for neurons that also sex-specifically express fruitless, a tra gene target controlling sexual behavior. Thus, in a subset of fruitless neurons, targets of the TIF and tra pathways appear to collaborate to control ovulation. In most insects, Sxl has no sex-specific functions, and tra, rather than Sxl, is both the target of the primary sex signal and the gene that maintains the female developmental commitment via positive autoregulation. The TIF pathway may represent an ancestral female-specific function acquired by Sxl in an early evolutionary step toward its becoming the regulator of tra in Drosophila.
Topics: Animals; Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; Female; Genes, Switch; Mutagenesis; Neurons; Nuclear Proteins; Ovulation; RNA-Binding Proteins; Sex Determination Processes; Signal Transduction; Transgenes
PubMed: 24191002
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1319063110 -
Akusherstvo I Ginekologiia 2001The nondiphtheriae corynebacteria are uncommon but increasingly recognized as important agents of community-acquired endocarditis in patients with underlying structural...
The nondiphtheriae corynebacteria are uncommon but increasingly recognized as important agents of community-acquired endocarditis in patients with underlying structural heart disease, as well as of prosthetic-valve endocarditis. We describe three cases of nondiphtheriae corynebacterial endocarditis, including the first reported case of endocarditis caused by , occurring over an 18-month period, all in association with indwelling intravascular devices.
Topics: 17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; Adolescent; Amenorrhea; Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome; Female; Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XY; Hormone Replacement Therapy; Humans; Male; Retrospective Studies; Ultrasonography; Uterus
PubMed: 11799760
DOI: 10.3201/eid0801.010151 -
Revista Latino-americana de Enfermagem 2014to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics, epidemic trend and spatial distribution of the risk of AIDS in adults 50 years of age and over.
OBJECTIVE
to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics, epidemic trend and spatial distribution of the risk of AIDS in adults 50 years of age and over.
METHOD
population-based, ecological study, that used secondary data from the Notifiable Disease Information System (Sinan/AIDS) of Paraíba state from the period January 2000 to December 2010.
RESULTS
during the study period, 307 cases of AIDS were reported among people 50 years of age or over. There was a predominance of males (205/66, 8%), mixed race, and low education levels. The municipalities with populations above 100 thousand inhabitants reported 58.5% of the cases. There was a progressive increase in cases among women; an increasing trend in the incidence (positive linear correlation); and an advance in the geographical spread of the disease, with expansion to the coastal region and to the interior of the state, reaching municipalities with populations below 30 thousand inhabitants. In some locations the risk of disease was 100 times greater than the relative risk for the state.
CONCLUSION
aging, with the feminization and interiorization of the epidemic in adults 50 years of age and over, confirms the need for the induction of affirmative policies targeted toward this age group.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Brazil; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Risk Assessment; Socioeconomic Factors; Spatial Analysis
PubMed: 25029044
DOI: 10.1590/0104-1169.3327.2424 -
PLoS Biology Oct 2010Mammalian X chromosomes evolved under various mechanisms including sexual antagonism, the faster-X process, and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI). These forces...
Mammalian X chromosomes evolved under various mechanisms including sexual antagonism, the faster-X process, and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI). These forces may contribute to nonrandom chromosomal distribution of sex-biased genes. In order to understand the evolution of gene content on the X chromosome and autosome under these forces, we dated human and mouse protein-coding genes and miRNA genes on the vertebrate phylogenetic tree. We found that the X chromosome recently acquired a burst of young male-biased genes, which is consistent with fixation of recessive male-beneficial alleles by sexual antagonism. For genes originating earlier, however, this pattern diminishes and finally reverses with an overrepresentation of the oldest male-biased genes on autosomes. MSCI contributes to this dynamic since it silences X-linked old genes but not X-linked young genes. This demasculinization process seems to be associated with feminization of the X chromosome with more X-linked old genes expressed in ovaries. Moreover, we detected another burst of gene originations after the split of eutherian mammals and opossum, and these genes were quickly incorporated into transcriptional networks of multiple tissues. Preexisting X-linked genes also show significantly higher protein-level evolution during this period compared to autosomal genes, suggesting positive selection accompanied the early evolution of mammalian X chromosomes. These two findings cast new light on the evolutionary history of the mammalian X chromosome in terms of gene gain, sequence, and expressional evolution.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Genes, X-Linked; Humans; Male; Mammals; Mice; MicroRNAs; Phylogeny; Spermatogenesis; X Chromosome
PubMed: 20957185
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000494 -
Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem Mar 2015The aim of this study was to create a term base for nursing practices with elderly women with HIV/AIDS. This documental descriptive research was conducted at the...
The aim of this study was to create a term base for nursing practices with elderly women with HIV/AIDS. This documental descriptive research was conducted at the Universidade Federal de Paraíba, from August 2012 to July 2013, based on a list of terms from the Integrated Plan to Combat the Feminization of AIDS and other STDs. These terms were cross-mapped with those of the International Classification for Nursing Practices 2011 (CIPEr 2011) and use of these terms in nursing practices was confirmed with the help of 15 participants. The base comprised 106 constant terms and 69 non-constant terms in the CIPEr 2011. Results revealed the need to reconsider nursing care for elderly women with HIV/AIDS in light of epidemiological changes in relation to aging and feminization of the disease. The term base will support the construction of more appropriate wording for nursing diagnoses, results and interventions for elderly women with HIV/AIDS.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Databases as Topic; Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 26098799
DOI: 10.1590/1983-1447.2015.01.46671 -
Journal of the National Medical... Mar 1992The hormonal profile of 40 transsexual inmates from a pool of 86 inmates in the California State prison system was studied before and after therapy with feminizing...
The hormonal profile of 40 transsexual inmates from a pool of 86 inmates in the California State prison system was studied before and after therapy with feminizing hormones. Clinical and social data were obtained on all 86 inmates; the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity was examined in 76 of the 86 individuals. Despite similar degrees of feminization in all 40 individuals in whom hormonal studies were performed, variable suppression of serum testosterone concentrations was present. Based on their testosterone concentrations while on feminizing hormone therapy, the transsexual inmates could be divided into three groups. In Group I (the "suppressed" group), the serum testosterone concentrations were markedly depressed (less than 10 ng/dL); in Group II (the "non-suppressed" group), the values of testosterone were normal (446 to 1072 ng/dL); and in Group III (the "intermediate" group), the testosterone values were between those of the suppressed group and the nonsuppressed group. We speculate that feminizing hormone therapy may induce the development of a state of target hormone resistance to testosterone that results in similar degrees of feminization independent of the circulating concentrations of testosterone. The incidence of HIV seropositivity (3/76) was considerably less than anticipated based on previous studies in populations at high risk for developing the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Topics: Adult; California; Estrogens; HIV Seropositivity; Hormones; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prisoners; Progestins; Risk Factors; Testosterone; Transsexualism
PubMed: 1578499
DOI: No ID Found -
Revista de Saude Publica Apr 2004Sexual intercourse is currently the route of transmission among women that has most contributed to the feminization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As an ongoing effort to...
OBJECTIVE
Sexual intercourse is currently the route of transmission among women that has most contributed to the feminization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As an ongoing effort to establish more appropriate standards for health counseling, the study's purpose was to investigate the use of contraceptive methods that would also prevent HIV/AIDS women against disease transmission.
METHODS
An exploratory study was developed in an outpatient clinic of a public university hospital, a reference center of HIV/AIDS patients in the mid-south region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, during a 5-month-period (2000 and 2001). The study was carried out in 73 HIV/AIDS women. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire exploring subjects' sociodemographics, contraception method used and HIV status of their sex partners. A descriptive data analysis was performed and the contents of open answers were grouped into themes. Fischer's exact test was applied for analyzing some variables at a 5% significance level. Content analysis was carried out according to Bardin's proposal.(2)
RESULTS
Most women at reproductive age were married and had been infected almost exclusively through heterosexual contact. Of them, 35.4% reported having an HIV discordant partner and 13.7% used inadequate contraceptive methods that failed to protect them against HIV transmission.
CONCLUSIONS
The study results call for the need of continuous education on safer sex among HIV/AIDS women to empower them to discuss with their partners alternative options of exercising their sexuality and to raise awareness on their contraceptive choices in a way to protect their own health, their partner's and even their unborn offspring's health.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; Contraception Behavior; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic; Sexual Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 15122374
DOI: 10.1590/s0034-89102004000200007