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The majority of people who contract COVID-19 experience a short period of symptomatic infection. However, symptoms persist for months or years following initial exposure to the virus in some cases. This has been described as long COVID. Little is known about the lived experience of this condition, as it has only recently emerged. This study aimed to explore the experiences of mental health, quality of life, and coping among people living with long COVID. A sample of 47 adults with lived experience participated in web-based focus groups. Separate focus groups were held for 24 individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions and 23 individuals without pre-existing mental health conditions. Data were analyzed using a codebook thematic analysis approach. Five themes were identified as integral to the long COVID experience: The Emotional Landscape of Long COVID, New Limits to Daily Functioning, Grief and Loss of Former Identity, Long COVID-related Stigmatization, and Learning to Cope with Persisting Symptoms. These findings illustrate the immense impact of long COVID on mental health and quality of life. Minimal differences were found between those with and those without pre-existing mental health conditions, as both groups were substantially impacted by the condition. Attention to the perspectives of people with lived experience of long COVID is necessary to inform future directions for research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexually transmitted diseases are major causes of infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and premature birth. Here, we developed a new multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the simultaneous detection of nine major sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found in Vietnamese women, including Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Gardnerella vaginalis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Candida albicans, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, and human alphaherpesviruses 1 and 2. A panel containing three tubes × three pathogens/tube was predesigned based on double-quenched TaqMan probes to increase detection sensitivity. There was no cross-reactivity among the nine STIs and other non-targeted microorganisms. Depending on each pathogen, the agreement with commercial kits, sensitivity, specificity, repeatability and reproducibility coefficient of variation (CV), and limit of detection of the developed real-time PCR assay were 99.0%–100%, 92.9%–100%, 100%, <3%, and 8–58 copies/reaction, respectively. One assay cost only 2.34 USD. Application of the assay for the detection of the nine STIs in 535 vaginal swab samples collected from women in Vietnam yielded 532 positive cases (99.44%). Among the positive samples, 37.76% had one pathogen, with G. vaginalis (33.83%) as the most prevalent; 46.36% had two pathogens, with G. vaginalis + C. albicans as the most prevalent combination (38.13%); and 11.78%, 2.99%, and 0.56% had three, four, and five pathogens, respectively. In conclusion, the developed assay represents a sensitive and cost-effective molecular diagnostic tool for the detection of major STIs in Vietnam and is a model for the development of panel detections of common STIs in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted nanoparticle delivery is a promising strategy for increasing efficacy and limiting side effects of therapeutics. When designing a targeted liposomal formulation, the in vivo biodistribution of the particles must be characterized to determine the value of the targeting approach. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists effectively treat metabolic syndrome by decreasing dyslipidemia and insulin resistance but side effects have limited their use, making them a class of compounds that could benefit from targeted liposomal delivery. The adipose targeting sequence peptide (ATS) could fit this role, as it has been shown to bind to adipose tissue endothelium and induce weight loss when delivered conjugated to a pro-apoptotic peptide. To date, however, a full assessment of ATS in vivo biodistribution has not been reported, leaving important unanswered questions regarding the exact mechanisms whereby ATS targeting enhances therapeutic efficacy. We designed this study to evaluate the biodistribution of ATS-conjugated liposomes loaded with the PPARα/γ dual agonist tesaglitazar in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. The ATS-liposome biodistribution in adipose tissue and other organs was examined at the cellular and tissue level using microscopy, flow cytometry, and fluorescent molecular tomography. Changes in metabolic parameters and gene expression were measured by target and off-target tissue responses to the treatment. Unexpectedly, ATS targeting did not increase liposomal uptake in adipose relative to other tissues, but did increase uptake in the kidneys. Targeting also did not significantly alter metabolic parameters. Analysis of the liposome cellular distribution in the stromal vascular fraction with flow cytometry revealed high uptake by multiple cell types. Our findings highlight the need for thorough study of in vivo biodistribution when evaluating a targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]