The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and Adult Mortality: A Replication Study of HIV Development Assistance Effects in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Originally Published hereThe US budget for global health funding, which was by far the largest of similar funding in the world, increased from US $1.3 billion in 2001 to more than US $10 billion in recent years. More than 54% of this funding was allocated to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS through the US…

Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Substance Abuse and HIV-Related Neurological Pathologies

Originally Published hereExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are a broad, heterogeneous class of membranous lipid-bilayer vesicles that facilitate intercellular communication throughout the body. As important carriers of various types of cargo, including proteins, lipids, DNA fragments, and a variety of small noncoding RNAs, including miRNAs, mRNAs, and siRNAs, EVs may play an important role in the development…

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Challenges in Clinical Applications

Originally Published hereStem cell therapy has garnered much attention and application in the past decades for the treatment of diseases and injuries. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are studied most extensively for their therapeutic roles, which appear to be derived from their paracrine activity. Recent studies suggest a critical therapeutic role for extracellular vesicles (EV) secreted…

Preventing HIV and HSV-2 Through Knowledge and Attitudes: A Replication Study of a Multi-Component Community-Based Intervention in Zimbabwe

Originally Published hereINTRODUCTION: Approximately two-thirds of HIV-infected individuals reside in sub-Saharan Africa. The region accounts for 68% of the new HIV infections occurring worldwide with almost one-half of these infections being among young adults aged 12-24 years. Cowan and colleagues conducted a community-based, multi-component HIV intervention aimed at youth in rural Zimbabwe. Despite some changes…

Cash Transfers and HIV/HSV-2 Prevalence: A Replication of a Cluster Randomized Trial in Malawi

Originally Published hereINTRODUCTION: In this paper we perform a replication analysis of “Effect of a cash transfer programme for schooling on prevalence of HIV and herpes simplex type 2 in Malawi: a cluster randomised trial” by Sarah Baird and others published in “The Lancet” in 2012. The original study was a two-year cluster randomized intervention…

Isolated prehospital hypotension correlates with injury severity and outcomes in patients with trauma

Originally Published here Objective Patients normotensive in the trauma bay despite documented prehospital hypotension may not be recognized as significantly injured. The purpose of this study was to determine whether isolated prehospital hypotension portends poor outcomes and correlates with injury severity. Methods Prospective cohort study conducted at a level 1 university trauma center. The lowest…