The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hinder US End the HIV Epidemic goals. We evaluated viral suppression and retention-in-care before and after telemedicine was instituted, in response to shelter-in-place mandates, in a large, urban HIV clinic. The odds of viral nonsuppression were 31% higher postshelter-in-place (95% confidence interval = 1.08–1.53) in spite of stable retention-in-care and visit volume, with disproportionate impact on homeless individuals. Measures to counteract the effect of COVID-19 on HIV outcomes are urgently needed.

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Global population growth drives increasing food demand, which is anticipated to increase by at least 20% over the next 15 years. Rapid detection and identification of plant pathogens allows for up to a 50% increase in the total agricultural yield worldwide. Current molecular methods for pathogen diagnostics, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are costly, time-consuming, and destructive. These limitations recently catalyzed a push toward developing minimally invasive and substrate general techniques that can be used in the field for confirmatory detection and identification of plant pathogens. Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a noninvasive, nondestructive, and label-free technique that can be used to determine chemical structure of analyzed specimens. In this study, we demonstrate that by using a hand-held Raman spectrometer, we can identify whether wheat or sorghum grains are healthy or not and identify present plant pathogens. We show that RS enables diagnosis of simple diseases, such as ergot, that are caused by one pathogen, as well as complex diseases, such as black tip or mold, which are induced by several different pathogens. The combination of chemometric analysis and RS allows for distinguishing between healthy and infected grains with high accuracy. We also show that RS can be used to determine states of disease development on grain. These results demonstrate that Raman-based approach for disease detection on plants is sample agnostic.

BACKGROUND:The objective of this international field study was to test the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-BM22 module to assess healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with bone metastases. METHODS: Patients undergoing a variety of bone metastases-specific treatments were accrued. The QLQ-BM22 was administered with the QLQ-C30 at baseline and at 1 follow-up time point internationally. A debriefing questionnaire was administered to determine patient acceptability and understanding. RESULTS: Large-scale field testing of the QLQ-BM22 in addition to the QLQ-C30 took place in 7 countries: Brazil,

Overall, both questionnaires are effective in assessing breast cancer-specific quality of life. Clear similarities and differences between the two tools exist. Decision-making between the questionnaires should be based on the purpose and design of the study.

Background and Objectives: People have multi-faceted health care needs and consult a diverse range of health care practitioners (HCP) from both the conventional and complementary medicine healthcare sectors. The effective communication between HCP and with patients are obvious requisites to coordinating multidisciplinary care and shared decision making. Further, miscommunication is a leading cause of patient harm and is associated with reduced patient satisfaction, health literacy, treatment compliance and quality of life. In conventional healthcare settings, the differences in professional hierarchy, training, communication styles and culture are recognised communication barriers. Less is known about interprofessional communication (IPC) that includes traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) HCP. This review aims to summarise the experiences and perceptions of conventional and complementary HCP and identify factors that influence IPC. Methods: A qualitative rapid literature review was conducted. Six databases were searched to identify original research and systematic reviews published since 2009 and in English. Excluded were articles reporting original research outside of Australia that did not include TCM-HCP, already cited in a systematic review, or of low quality with a score of less than three on a critical appraisal skills programme (CASP) checklist. A thematic analysis of included studies was used to identify and explore important and recurring themes. Results: From the conducted searches, 18 articles were included, 11 of which reported data on complementary HCP and seven were literature reviews. Four key themes were identified that impact IPC: medical dominance, clarity of HCP roles, a shared vision, and education and training. Conclusion: IPC within and between conventional and complementary HCP is impacted by interrelated factors. A diverse range of initiatives that facilitate interprofessional learning and collaboration are required to facilitate IPC and help overcome medical dominance and interprofessional cultural divides.

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The aim of this article is to present a review reporting empirically determined symptom clusters in breast cancer patients. We conducted a literature search on symptom clusters in breast cancer patients using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL. Studies examining the presence of predetermined clusters were excluded. The five relevant studies identified were published between 2005 and 2009. The five studies differed from each other by statistical methodology, by the number of symptom clusters produced and by the symptoms comprising the clusters. Symptom clusters extracted between the five studies varied from one to four, while the number of symptoms in a cluster ranged from two to five. One study examining symptom clusters between different patient groups and a second study examining clusters across a time trajectory had certain reproducible clusters comprising similar symptoms. There were no clusters across different studies that contained the same symptoms, although the single symptom of fatigue was present in a cluster in all five studies and depression/psychological distress was noted in four of the studies. Nausea and appetite were the only two symptoms that associated together across three of the five studies; however, they were not the only two symptoms in those clusters. Methodological disparities include different patient populations between and within studies, different statistical methods, varying assessment tools and time points, with the majority of studies employing more than one symptom tool. Although there were common symptoms assessed across the five studies, no common symptom clusters could be derived from these reports. This lack of commonality may result from the disparities in subpopulations of patients, assessment tools, and analytical and methodological approaches. As symptom cluster research continues to develop towards a clearer consensus on guidelines, the findings of symptom clusters may provide clinically valuable information regarding diagnosis, prognostication, prioritizing and managing symptoms in breast cancer patients.