Menstrual hygiene behaviour among the tribal married women aged 15 to 49 years: A cross-sectional study in a community development block of Paschim Bardhaman District, West Bengal.

Background: Menstrual hygiene management is integrally associated with reproductive health of women. Menstrual health and hygiene needs, particularly of tribal women still remain unmet for many reasons. Inappropriate menstrual behaviour leads to adverse health consequences. Objectives: This study aimed to ascertain the menstrual hygiene behaviour of tribal married women aged 15 to 49 years and its correlates. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to April 2020 in the Barabani block of Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal. A calculated sample of 530 women was selected randomly from 10 tribal villages of the study area; they were interviewed through a pre-designed schedule for socio-demographic and menstrual hygiene behaviour characteristics. Menstrual hygiene management score was derived based on five essential components- hygienic absorbents, hygienic disposal of absorbents, frequency of changing of absorbents, cleaning of external genitalia and source of water for cleaning; menstrual hygiene behaviour was categorised as favourable and unfavourable. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was performed using SPSS v. 20. Results: All 530 women were Hindu and belonged to Santhal ethnicity; 53.4% were illiterate. Sanitary pads were used by 43.8% of women; 63% practised indiscriminate throwing for disposal of absorbents; 86% practised appropriate changing of absorbents. Overall, 63% had favourable menstrual hygiene management behaviour, and the literacy status of women was found to be a significant predictor. Conclusion: Unfavourable menstrual practices are still widely prevalent among tribal women, mainly attributable to lack of knowledge. Awareness generation should be focused on improving those practices, which would also result in the improvement of general health conditions.

Computational prediction of crucial genes involved in gonorrhea infection and neoplastic cell transformation: A multiomics approach.

Neisseria gonorrheae, the causative agent of genitourinary infections, has been associated with asymptomatic or recurrent infections and has the potential to form biofilms and induce inflammation and cell transformation. Herein, we aimed to use computational analysis to predict novel associations between chronic inflammation caused by gonorrhea infection and neoplastic transformation. Prioritization and gene enrichment strategies based on virulence and resistance genes utilizing essential genes from the DEG and PANTHER databases, respectively, were performed. Using the STRING database, protein‒protein interaction networks were constructed with 55 nodes of bacterial proteins and 72 nodes of proteins involved in the host immune response. MCODE and cytoHubba were used to identify 12 bacterial hub proteins (murA, murB, murC, murD, murE, purN, purL, thyA, uvrB, kdsB, lpxC, and ftsH) and 19 human hub proteins, of which TNF, STAT3 and AKT1 had high significance. The PPI networks are based on the connectivity degree (K), betweenness centrality (BC), and closeness centrality (CC) values. Hub genes are vital for cell survival and growth, and their significance as potential drug targets is discussed. This computational study provides a comprehensive understanding of inflammation and carcinogenesis pathways that are activated during gonorrhea infection.

Teaching foundational language equity concepts in the pre-clinical curriculum.

BACKGROUND: Despite the prevalence of non-English languages in the US population, existing medical training to teach communication with linguistically diverse communities is limited to electives or solely focuses on medical interpreting. Language-appropriate communication skills are seldom comprehensively integrated in medical education. This study describes the development and evaluation of an intervention to teach foundational language equity concepts. METHODS: The authors implemented a pre-clinical language equity course at three medical school campuses between August 2020 and March 2022. Sessions focused on the impact of language in health, physician language proficiency standards, and working with medical interpreters. The study sought to (1) understand students' language skills and prior clinical experiences with patients with non-English language preference and (2) evaluate the curriculum's impact. Students self-reported their language skills and experiences as part of a voluntary pre-questionnaire. Pre and post-questionnaires evaluated knowledge, attitudes, and intent to apply language equity concepts. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests were used to examine trends; themes were identified from free-text responses. RESULTS: Overall, 301 students completed the course, 252 (83%) completed at least one questionnaire; for each session, between 35% and 46% of learners completed both pre and post-questionnaires. Three quarters (189/252) reported non-English languages. Over half (138/252) reported previous non-English language patient care, and 28% (62/224) had served as ad hoc (untrained) interpreters. Only two students (< 1%) had ever been assessed for medical language abilities. Students demonstrated improved post-course language equity knowledge, strategies for interpreter-mediated encounters, and likelihood to report a plan for language skills assessment (all p < .001). Most plans were multifaceted (61%, 38/62), involving goals like completing a language course, taking a proficiency exam, openly discussing skills and uncertainties with team members, and increasing professional interpreter utilization. CONCLUSIONS: A longitudinal language equity curriculum can be feasibly integrated in pre-clinical education, highlight the linguistic diversity of the student body, and serve as a first step in ensuring that all students have a strong language equity foundation prior to clinical rotations. Future steps include evaluating the intervention's potential long-term effects on professional interpreter utilization, student clinical performance, and institutional culture that promotes multilingualism.

Age at lung cancer diagnosis in females versus males who never smoke by race and ethnicity.

BACKGROUND: We characterized age at diagnosis and estimated sex differences for lung cancer and its histological subtypes among individuals who never smoke. METHODS: We analyzed the distribution of age at lung cancer diagnosis in 33,793 individuals across 8 cohort studies and two national registries from East Asia, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Student's t-tests were used to assess the study population differences (Δ years) in age at diagnosis comparing females and males who never smoke across subgroups defined by race/ethnicity, geographic location, and histological subtypes. RESULTS: We found that among Chinese individuals diagnosed with lung cancer who never smoke, females were diagnosed with lung cancer younger than males in the Taiwan Cancer Registry (n = 29,832) (Δ years = -2.2 (95% confidence interval (CI):-2.5, -1.9), in Shanghai (n = 1049) (Δ years = -1.6 (95% CI:-2.9, -0.3), and in Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente Hawai'i in the US (n = 82) (Δ years = -11.3 (95% CI: -17.7, -4.9). While there was a suggestion of similar patterns in African American and non-Hispanic White individuals. the estimated differences were not consistent across studies and were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence of sex differences for age at lung cancer diagnosis among individuals who never smoke.