Immediate Effects of Cervical Spine Manipulation Compared With Muscle Energy Technique on Neck Muscle Activity and Range of Motion in Asymptomatic Participants: A Randomized Study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of cervical spine manipulation (SM) compared with muscle energy technique (MET) on neck muscle activity and range of motion in asymptomatic people. Methods: A randomized parallel-group study was conducted at a chiropractic teaching clinic in Durban, South Africa. Fifty asymptomatic participants between 18 and 35 years of age were randomly assigned into group 1 or group 2. Group 1 received cervical SM, and group 2 received MET. Participants were blinded to group allocation only. Baseline and post-test measurements consisted of resting upper trapezius and posterior cervical muscle activity and cervical spine range of motion (ROM) in lateral flexion and extension. Results: A significant difference was found in cervical ROM within groups (P < .001), with no significant difference observed between the 2 groups. The right posterior cervical muscles showed a significant difference in group 1 only (P = .012). No significant muscle activity changes occurred in group 2. Resting muscle activity measures showed no statistically significant changes between groups. Conclusion: A single application of SM and MET to the cervical spine immediately increased cervical ROM. Neither cervical SM nor MET changed resting posterior cervical and upper trapezius muscle activity.

Risk of Long COVID in People Infected With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 After 2 Doses of a Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine: Community-Based, Matched Cohort Study.

We investigated long COVID incidence by vaccination status in a random sample of UK adults from April 2020 to November 2021. Persistent symptoms were reported by 9.5% of 3090 breakthrough severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections and 14.6% of unvaccinated controls (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59 [95% confidence interval, .50-.69]), emphasizing the need for public health initiatives to increase population-level vaccine uptake.

Breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, and early detection practices in United States-Mexico border Latinas.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence suggests Latinas residing along the United States-Mexico border face higher breast cancer mortality rates compared to Latinas in the interior of either country. The purpose of this study was to investigate breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, and use of breast cancer preventive screening among U.S. Latina and Mexican women residing along the U.S.-Mexico border. METHODS: For this binational cross-sectional study, 265 participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire that obtained information on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, family history, and screening practices. Differences between Mexican (n=128) and U.S. Latina (n=137) participants were assessed by Pearson's chi-square, Fischer's exact test, t tests, and multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: U.S. Latinas had significantly increased odds of having ever received a mammogram/breast ultrasound (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=2.95) and clinical breast examination (OR=2.67) compared to Mexican participants. A significantly greater proportion of Mexican women had high knowledge levels (54.8%) compared to U.S. Latinas (45.2%, p<0.05). Age, education, and insurance status were significantly associated with breast cancer screening use. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having higher levels of breast cancer knowledge than U.S. Latinas, Mexican women along the U.S.-Mexico border are not receiving the recommended breast cancer screening procedures. Although U.S. border Latinas had higher breast cancer screening levels than their Mexican counterparts, these levels are lower than those seen among the general U.S. Latina population. Our findings underscore the lack of access to breast cancer prevention screening services and emphasize the need to ensure that existing breast cancer screening programs are effective in reaching women along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The impact of family history of breast cancer on knowledge, attitudes, and early detection practices of Mexican women along the Mexico-US border.

Rates of breast cancer (BC) have increased in Mexico, with the highest incidence and mortality rates observed in the northern Mexican states. This study aimed to describe the BC knowledge, attitudes and screening practices among Mexican women with and without a family history of BC residing along the Mexico-US border, and identify factors associated with screening behaviors. One hundred and twenty eight Mexican women aged 40 and older completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, family history, and screening practices. There were no significant differences between Mexican women with and without a family history. Over 60% of women in both groups had never had a mammogram/breast ultrasound, and more than 50% had never obtained a clinical breast exam. Age, marital status, insurance, and breast cancer knowledge significantly influenced BC screening behaviors among Mexican women. Further research is needed to examine other key factors associated with screening utilization, in effort of improving BC rates.

Breast cancer knowledge and early detection among Hispanic women with a family history of breast cancer along the U.S.-Mexico border.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among U.S. Hispanic women. Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic White women to be diagnosed at an early stage and survive breast cancer. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed differences in breast cancer knowledge, attitudes, and screening practices between Hispanic women with (FH+) and without (FH-) a family history of breast cancer in three U.S.-Mexico border counties. RESULTS: Among 137 Hispanic women age 40 and older, FH+ women had levels of knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer similar to those of FH- women. FH+ participants were more likely to have ever performed breast self-examinations, although levels of compliance with screening guidelines did not significantly differ between FH+ and FH- groups. CONCLUSION: U.S. Hispanic women with a family history of breast cancer constitute an at-risk group for which adhering to preventive screening guidelines could substantially reduce breast cancer mortality.

Impact of a mild scrotal heat stress on DNA integrity in murine spermatozoa.

An increase in scrotal temperature can lead to the production of poor quality spermatozoa and infertility. In the present study we have used mice to examine the impact of mild, scrotal heat stress (42 degrees C for 30 min) on numbers of spermatozoa as well as on the integrity of their DNA. Spermatozoa recovered from the epididymides hours (1 to 24) or days (7 to 32) after treatment were analysed using COMET and sperm chromatin structure (SCSA) assays. The treatment induced a stress response in both the testis and the epididymis that was associated with reduced expression of the cold inducible RNA binding protein (Cirp) and an increase in germ cell apoptosis (Apotag positive cells). Although spermatozoa present in the epididymis at the time of heating contained correctly packaged DNA, its integrity was compromised by heat stress. In addition, although some germ cells, which were present within the testis at the time of heat stress, were removed by apoptosis, many germ cells completed their development and were recovered as motile spermatozoa with damaged DNA. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that scrotal heat stress can compromise the DNA integrity of spermatozoa and this may have clinical implications for patients undergoing IVF and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

DNA repair gene Ercc1 is essential for normal spermatogenesis and oogenesis and for functional integrity of germ cell DNA in the mouse.

Ercc1 is essential for nucleotide excision repair (NER) but, unlike other NER proteins, Ercc1 and Xpf are also involved in recombination repair pathways. Ercc1 knockout mice have profound cell cycle abnormalities in the liver and die before weaning. Subsequently Xpa and Xpc knockouts have proved to be good models for the human NER deficiency disease, xeroderma pigmentosum, leading to speculation that the recombination, rather than the NER deficit is the key to the Ercc1 knockout phenotype. To investigate the importance of the recombination repair functions of Ercc1 we studied spermatogenesis and oogenesis in Ercc1-deficient mice. Male and female Ercc1-deficient mice were both infertile. Ercc1 was expressed at a high level in the testis and the highest levels of Ercc1 protein occurred in germ cells following meiotic crossing over. However, in Ercc1 null males some germ cell loss occurred prior to meiotic entry and there was no evidence that Ercc1 was essential for meiotic crossing over. An increased level of DNA strand breaks and oxidative DNA damage was found in Ercc1-deficient testis and increased apoptosis was noted in male germ cells. We conclude that the repair functions of Ercc1 are required in both male and female germ cells at all stages of their maturation. The role of endogenous oxidative DNA damage and the reason for the sensitivity of the germ cells to Ercc1 deficiency are discussed.