The words 'defaulter', 'suspect' and 'control' have been part of the language of tuberculosis (TB) services for many decades, and they continue to be used in international guidelines and in published literature. From a patient perspective, it is our opinion that these terms are at best inappropriate, coercive and disempowering, and at worst they could be perceived as judgmental and criminalising, tending to place the blame of the disease or responsibility for adverse treatment outcomes on one side-that of the patients. In this article, which brings together a wide range of authors and institutions from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific, we discuss the use of the words 'defaulter', 'suspect' and 'control' and argue why it is detrimental to continue using them in the context of TB. We propose that 'defaulter' be replaced with 'person lost to follow-up'; that 'TB suspect' be replaced by 'person with presumptive TB' or 'person to be evaluated for TB'; and that the term 'control' be replaced with 'prevention and care' or simply deleted. These terms are non-judgmental and patient-centred. We appeal to the global Stop TB Partnership to lead discussions on this issue and to make concrete steps towards changing the current paradigm.

Background and purpose. Stress has been recognized as a public health problem. However, little research has been done on gender differences in sources of stress and coping strategies in Hawaii. In this study, we hypothesized that: 1) women will report higher levels of stress than men; 2) women will report being stressed by family and health related stressors while men will report stress related to finances and work-related issues; 3) women will report using adaptive coping strategies more frequently while men will report using maladaptive and avoidance strategies more frequently; 4) there will be no gender differences in the readiness to use stress management strategies. Method. A statewide cross-sectional telephone-survey of 1518 participants was conducted during the spring and summer of 2006. Results. Women reported higher overall perceived stress levels, but there was no difference in the experienced social stressors and health stressors between genders. Men perceived more stress from personal factors. There were no gender differences in the perceived ability to cope with stress. However, women were more likely to use adaptive coping strategies, whereas men were more likely to use maladaptive and avoidance coping strategies. There were no significant gender differences in stages of change for stress management. Conclusion. Based on this study, interventions can be developed to help people better cope with stress. Interventions for women may focus on increasing the use of adaptive strategies such as praying and talking to friends and family, while interventions for men may introduce the use of adaptive coping strategies such as exercise and actively fighting causes of stress. This study shows that gender differences in stress levels and coping in Hawaii are similar to previous studies conducted on the mainland. More research into specific stressors and coping strategies may help tailor interventions that are more effective and comprehensive.

Chronic use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) has been shown to improve insulin action on muscle glucose uptake by the prolongation of nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)/protein kinase (PKG) signalling.AimsAs the effects of PDE-5i on glycemic control in person with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have not been systematically explored, we conducted a meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials (RCTs).MethodsA literature search was performed through electronic databases including MEDLINE (Pubmed), The Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Web of Science, CINAHL, www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.clinicaltrialresults.org until April 2016 without language restriction. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (i) RCTs of the chronic use of PDE-5i compared with placebo or no active treatment in T2DM patients (ii) reporting of HbA1c or glycated haemoglobin or fasting plasma glucose (FPG).ResultsFour studies involving a total of 198 patients fit into the inclusion criteria. All included studies used the same PDE-5i, sildenafil. Reports of HbA1c were analysed as only one study reported FPG. PDE-5i had no beneficial effect on HbA1c with weighted mean difference (WMD) of 0.17% (95% CI, −0.64 to 0.97).ConclusionThis meta-analysis suggests that large and well-controlled studies are warranted to shed light on the effect of PDE-5i on glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Purpose. Formation and studying the sensory properties of multilayer nanocomposite electrophoretic CuO/CNPs films in the infrared range.Methods. Study of the morphology and size composition of CuO/CNPs nanocomposite films using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy; determination of the chemical composition using X-ray diffractometry, the study of sensory sensitivity under infrared irradiation with a fiber-optic laser source with a wavelength of λ = 1064 nm; study of the temporal characteristics of the induced photoelectromotive force using optoelectric measurements (ADC L-CARD E2010D) interfaced with a personal computer.Results. Nanocomposite CuO/CNPs films 0.1 to 1 µm thick were obtained by electrophoretic synthesis on a glass substrate. It has been established that CuO/CNPs nanocomposite films are formed due to the ordered structuring of carbon nanoparticles along the direction of the electric field under the action of electrophoretic forces. At the same time, due to the electrolytic process, a layer of copper oxide from metal electrodes is formed on the surface of the carbon particles. The limiting size of carbon particles was 50-70 nm, depending on the parameters of film production. A technique has been developed for producing multilayer CuO/CNPs composite films with a thickness of one to ten layers. It has been established that when the synthesized ten-layer nanofilms are irradiated with infrared radiation with an intensity of 75 mW/cm-2, the value of the photogenerated EMF reaches 122.5 mV.Conclusion. Multilayer nanocomposite CuO/CNPs films with infrared sensor properties were obtained. It has been established that with an increase in the thickness of the synthesized films from one to ten layers, the photo-EMF under IR irradiation with an intensity of 75 mW/cm-2 increases from 17 to 122.5 mV.