Avert

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent, global threat to public health. The development and implementation of effective measures to address AMR is vitally important but presents important ethical questions. This is a policy area requiring further sustained attention to ensure that policies proposed in National Action Plans on AMR are ethically acceptable and preferable to alternatives that might be fairer or more effective, for instance. By ethically analysing case studies of coercive actions to address AMR across countries, we can better inform policy in a context-specific manner...

BACKGROUND: Vietnam continues to have measles and rubella outbreaks following supplementary immunization activities (SIA) and routine immunization despite both having high reported coverage. To evaluate immunization activities, age-specific immunity against measles and rubella, and the number of averted Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) cases, must be estimated. METHODS: Dried blood spots were collected from 2,091 randomly selected individuals aged 1-39 years. Measles and rubella virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) were measured by enzyme immunoassay...

Retinoblastoma stands as a paradigm of success in treating malignancies among pediatric patients. Over recent decades, the approach to managing retinoblastoma has evolved significantly, transitioning from the preservation of patients' lives to the preservation of eyes and vision while minimizing treatment-related complications. Chemotherapy, administered through diverse routes, has solidified its role as the cornerstone of retinoblastoma treatment. In addition to intravenous chemotherapy (IVC), alternative administration routes, including intraarterial (IAC), intravitreal, intracameral, and periocular delivery, have emerged as promising modalities for retinoblastoma management...

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) failure often involves venous neointimal hyperplasia (VNH) driven by elevated hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) in the venous wall. Omentin, known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperplasia properties, has an uncertain role in early AVF failure. This study investigates omentin's impact on VNH using a chronic renal failure (CRF) rabbit model. The CRF rabbit model of AVF received omentin-expressing adenoviral vector or control β-gal vector to assess omentin's effects on VNH...

H+ co-intercalation chemistry of the cathode is perceived to have damaging consequences on the low-rate and long-term cycling of aqueous zinc batteries, which is a critical hindrance to their promise for stationary storage applications. Herein, the thermodynamically competitive H+ storage chemistry of an attractive high-voltage cathode LiMn2 O4 is revealed by employing operando and ex-situ analytical techniques together with density functional theory-based calculations. The H+ electrochemistry leads to the previously unforeseen voltage decay with cycling, impacting the available energy density, particularly at lower currents...

Phthalate esters (PE), a significant class of organic compounds used in industry, can contaminate humans and animals by entering water and food chains. Recent studies demonstrate the influence of PE on the development and progression of heart diseases, particularly in obese people. Di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP) was administered orally to normal and diet-induced obese mice in this research to assess cardiovascular risk. The modifications in the microbial composition and metabolites were examined using RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis...

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection in pregnancy resembles a preeclamptic phenotype characterised by vascular dysfunction and foetal growth retardation. Given that low dose aspirin (ASA) is safe in pregnancy and is used to prevent preeclampsia, we investigated whether ASA or NO-conjugated aspirin, NCX4016, resolve vascular inflammation and function to improve offspring outcomes following IAV infection in pregnant mice. Pregnant mice were intranasally infected with a mouse adapted IAV strain (Hkx31; 104 plaque forming units) and received daily treatments with either 200µg/kg ASA or NCX4016 via oral gavage...

BACKGROUND: The interpretation of relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of improved influenza vaccines is complex. Estimation of burden averted is useful to contextualise their potential impact across different seasons. For the population aged under 65 years in Australia, this study estimated the additional morbidity and mortality that could be averted using improved influenza vaccines. METHODS: We used observed, season-specific (2015-2019) influenza notification and influenza-coded hospitalisation frequencies and published modelled estimates of influenza-associated hospitalisations and deaths that occurred under the prevailing influenza vaccination coverage scenario...

BACKGROUND: Stanniocalcin 2 (STC2), a glycoprotein hormone, is extensively expressed in various organs and tissues, particularly in the mammary gland. STC2 plays a crucial role in enabling cells to adapt to stress conditions and avert apoptosis. The efficiency of milk production is closely linked to both the quantity and quality of mammary cells. Yet there remains a dearth of research on the impact of STC2 on mammary cells activity in dairy cows. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of STC2 on the viability of mammary epithelial cells in dairy cows and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms...

BACKGROUND: Many studies have explored the impact of child removal on both children and professionals, but there is limited research on the experiences of mothers whose children social services had removed from their homes, particularly within Arab society. OBJECTIVE: This study focused on Arab mothers from East Jerusalem-an ethnic minority in Israel's society, that faces unique challenges-whose children removed from home. The study examines, from the mothers' perspectives (1) reasons for the removal, and (2) relationships with welfare services...

BACKGROUND: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) occurs at young ages, with the highest incidence between 20 and 40 years. While cure rates have improved to 80%-90% over the past decades, survivors of HL are at substantial risk of late treatment-related complications, such as cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, severe infections, and hypothyroidism. To reduce morbidity and mortality from late treatment effects, the Dutch Better care after lymphoma, Evaluation of long-term Treatment Effects and screening Recommendations (BETER) consortium developed a survivorship care program for 5-year survivors of HL that includes risk-based screening for and treatment of (risk factors for) late adverse events...

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remains a leading cause of mortality in Myanmar. Despite the burden, CVD preventive services receive low government and donor budgets, which has led to poor CVD outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a cost-effective analysis and a budget impact analysis on CVD prevention strategies recommended by the WHO. A Markov model was used to analyse the cost and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) from healthcare provider and societal perspectives...

INTRODUCTION: Pre-eclampsia (PE) affects about 5% of Chinese pregnant women and is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The first trimester screening model developed by the Fetal Medicine Foundation, which uses the Bayes theorem to combine maternal characteristics and medical history together with measurements of biomarkers, has been proven to be effective and has superior screening performance to that of the traditional risk factor-based approach for the prediction of PE...

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of β-trifluoroethoxydimethyl selenides was achieved under mild reaction conditions, and 39 compounds were prepared. All compounds were evaluated for their abilities to inhibit RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis, compound 4aa exhibited the most potent activity. Further investigations revealed that 4aa could inhibit F-actin ring generation, bone resorption, and osteoclast-specific gene expression in vitro . Western blot analyses demonstrated that compound 4aa abrogated the RANKL-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase and NF-kB-signaling pathways...

OBJECTIVE: Estimate the incremental costs and benefits of scaling up hypertension care in adults in 24 select countries, using three different systolic blood pressure (SBP) treatment cut-off points-≥140, ≥150 and ≥160 mm Hg. INTERVENTION: Strengthening the hypertension care cascade compared with status quo levels, with pharmacological treatment administered at different cut-points depending on the scenario. TARGET POPULATION: Adults aged 30+ in 24 low-income and middle-income countries spanning all world regions...

BACKGROUND: The Australian Government implemented a national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 beginning February 22, 2021. The roll-out was criticised for being delayed relative to many high-income countries, but high levels of vaccination coverage were belatedly achieved. The large-scale Omicron outbreak in January 2022 resulted in a massive number of cases and deaths, although mortality would have been far higher if not for vigorous efforts to rapidly vaccinate the entire population...

Spurious hyperphosphatemia, a rare occurrence, typically arises from substances in a patient's blood interfering with the colorimetric method for serum phosphate measurement. We present a case of factitious hyperphosphatemia caused by alteplase-contaminated blood samples in an 88-year-old CKD patient on hemodialysis, leading to misleadingly high phosphorus levels. Thorough investigations ruled out other etiologies, highlighting the necessity of stringent adherence to blood collection protocols to prevent sample contamination and avert erroneous laboratory results...

BACKGROUND: The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a health and social problem. Millions of girls and women have undergone FGM or will soon, and more information is needed to effectively reduce the practice. The aim of this research is to provide an overview of the FGM trendlines, the inequality of its prevalence, and the economic burden. The findings shed light on 30-year trends and the impact of the pandemic on planned efforts to reduce FGM which helps with public health interventions...

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined a set of targets to achieve eliminating hepatitis C by 2030. In May 2022, Lithuanian health authorities initiated a hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening program to start working towards elimination. In the program, bonus was given to general practitioners (GPs) to promote and conduct anti-HCV tests for two situations: (1) one time testing for individuals born in 1945-1994 and (2) annual HCV testing for persons who inject drugs or are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) regardless of age...

The global impact of COVID-19 has led to the development of numerous mathematical models to understand and control the pandemic. However, these models have not fully captured how the disease's dynamics are influenced by both within-host and between-host factors. To address this, a new mathematical model is proposed that links these dynamics and incorporates immune response. The model is compartmentalized with a fractional derivative in the sense of Caputo-Fabrizio, and its properties are studied to show a unique solution...