HPV is the sexually transmitted agent most common among young people, like college students. The aim of study was to associate sexual behavior characteristics of women with HPV, detected in genital samples taken before the introduction of the HPV vaccine. Female students during 2001-2005 donated genital samples and the samples were re-analyzed in 2013 for HPV genotyping by RT-PCR. The frozen storage of the students' genital samples allowed the detection of HPV DNA and its genotyping after years of sample collection. HPV prevalence was 22%, HPV16 3.9%, and HPV18 1.1%. Age, multiple sexual partners and the partner's age at first sexual intercourse were significantly associated to HPV. Students with >= 3 sexual partners and who did not use condom had 12.8 higher odds of being HPV positive. These results made possible the analysis of HPV prevalence changes, before HPV vaccine introduction. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Limited on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

Background: The Program of Combined Studies in Medicine (PECEM, by its acronym in Spanish) is a program for simultaneous bachelor and doctorate studies (MD/PhD) that enrolls students who show academic excellence and interest in scientific research. The initial doctoral training comprises seven six-month research stays in different laboratories or clinical or computer areas with different high-quality scientific advisors who provide students with a unique experience for their scientific training. Therefore, satisfaction in this stage is decisive for students’ performance and physical and psychological health. The aim of the present study was to administer a questionnaire to measure students’ satisfaction with their research experience as a service-product bundle.Methods: Students answered an online questionnaire that evaluated three dimensions: perceived quality of the advisor, skills development, and infrastructure and support. Several satisfiers were also evaluated: recommendation of the advisor to peers, fulfillment of student expectations and satisfaction with the program. Correlations were calculated using Fisher’s exact test. The significance was set atp < 0.05.Results: The high quality of the advisor, skills development and guidance during the stay were satisfiers correlated to the students’ recommendation of their advisors to their peers and to the fulfillment of the students’ scientific expectations. Conversely, skills development and infrastructure and support were satisfiers for a good to excellent experience as a PECEM student. A lack of direct interaction with the advisor’s workgroup was related to dissatisfaction.Conclusions: The nontangible products of the service, such as a positive interaction between the student, the advisor and the advisor’s workgroup as well as support obtained during the research stay, were satisfiers. These data indicate that promoting a fruitful bond between the student and advisor is a priority to ensure the quality of our innovative MD/PhD program.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections despite complete vaccination schedules. There are gaps in our understanding of the specific antibody isotypes and cytokine profiles produced during an infection following vaccination. In this study, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2⁻specific antibody isotypes and their association with cytokine production in HCWs with breakthrough infections. Methods: Serum samples from 114 HCWs were analyzed for antibody isotypes against the nucleoprotein (NCP) and the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, as well as for a panel of 13 cytokines. Results: Vaccinated SARS-CoV-2⁺ HCWs showed a higher prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies against NCP (IgM = 93.8%, IgG = 93.8%, IgA = 28.1%) and RBD (IgM = 46.9%, IgG = 100%, IgA = 90.6%). A specific IgM response to NCP was more frequent in vaccinated SARS-CoV-2⁺ individuals, whereas IgA responses were predominantly specific for RBD. Both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in vaccinated HCWs with breakthrough infections compared with unvaccinated and uninfected individuals. Interestingly, infected IgG+ HCWs with IgM specific for both NCP and RBD exhibited significantly higher IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, and TGF-β concentrations. Conclusion. Our data show that breakthrough infections in vaccinated HCWs induce a robust pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokine profile, which is associated with a broader IgM response directed against both NCP and RBD.

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Since 2011, students of the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico with an outstanding academic record and a vocation for biomedical, socio-medical and clinical research, have the opportunity to participate in the Plan of Combined Studies in Medicine (PECEM) which allows to study medicine and a doctorate in medicine in a period of eight years. The purpose of this study is to examine the best academic, institutional and student practices in PECEM, to describe and transfer them to other educational contexts in the health area. An exploratory qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was carried out in PECEM students using the technique of focus groups (FG). A total of 52 students participated from the 6 generations of PECEM. Data from 6 FG was analyzed and best practices were identified in 3 dimensions: 1) institutional context, 2) internal dynamics of the group, and 3) self-regulation.