Correlates of Hepatitis B infection in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Wa Municipality, Ghana.

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine against viral hepatitis B infection, it remains prevalent, highly transmissible especially through mother-to-child, life-threatening, and a major public health challenge. A positive Hepatitis B e-Antigen (HBeAg) mother has a 90% risk of transmitting the virus to the unborn child in the perinatal period. This study sought to determine the prevalence and risk of Hepatitis B infection among pregnant women in the Wa Municipality of Ghana.

Risk factors associated with neonatal mortality among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka.

Globally, several children die shortly after birth and many more of them within the first 28 days of life. Sub-Sharan Africa accounts for almost half (43%) of the global neonatal death with slow progress in reduction. These neonatal deaths are associated with lack of quality care at or immediately after birth and in the first 28 days of life.

Evaluation of the Acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators in Zambia from 2015-2021: a retrospective analysis.

Background: The resurgence of poliovirus infection in previously polio free regions and countries calls for renewed commitment to the global polio eradication efforts including strengthening of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance systems. Zambia is one of the countries substantially at risk for the importation of poliovirus infection from neighbouring countries including Malawi, Mozambique, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This study describes a seven-year AFP surveillance, assesses the surveillance indicators, and highlights areas for improvement.

Long distance laser filamentation using Yb:YAG kHz laser.

In the framework of the Laser Lightning Rod project, whose aim is to show that laser-induced filaments can guide lightning discharges over considerable distances, we study over a distance of 140 m the filaments created by a laser system with J-range pulses of 1 ps duration at 1 kHz repetition rate. We investigate the spatial evolution of the multiple filamentation regime using the fundamental beam at 1030 nm or using combination with the second and third harmonics. The measurements were made using both a collimated beam and a loosely focused beam.

Gains in multiple sclerosis knowledge following completion of the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis online course are maintained six months after course completion.

Background: Participation in the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) massive open online course (MOOC) significantly increases MS knowledge in both people living with MS (pwMS) and not living with MS at course completion. We also observed modest increases in health literacy, self-efficacy, and quality of life.

Objective: To examine long-term participant knowledge retention over a six-month follow-up period following completion of the Understanding MS MOOC, a freely available six-week online health education intervention.

Measurement Properties of the Health Literacy Questionnaire in the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis Massive Open Online Course Cohort: A Rasch Analysis.

Background: Online health education and other electronic health improvement strategies are developing rapidly, highlighting the growing need for valid scales to assess health literacy (HL). One comprehensive HL scale is the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ), but little is known about its measurement properties in online health education cohorts.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if the multidimensional HLQ is an appropriate tool to measure HL in a cohort of Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) online course enrollees.

Estimating the impact of work difficulties, work self-efficacy and work psychological safety on MS-related work productivity loss.

Background: A comprehensive understanding of factors associated with multiple sclerosis (MS)-related work productivity loss will inform targeted interventions. We have previously shown the strong impact of symptom severity on MS-related work productivity loss. However, the effect of work difficulties, work self-efficacy and work psychological safety is yet to be well evaluated in this context.

Long-term trajectories of employment status, workhours and disability support pension status, after a first episode of CNS demyelination.

Background: People with multiple sclerosis face significant employment-related challenges, with little known of the drivers of these outcomes.

Objective: We examined prospective trajectories of employment-related outcomes up to 11 years following a first episode of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination (FCD).

Methods: Participants were aged 18-59 years, at FCD, with at least two observations and were employed at study entry or anytime during follow-up ( = 207).

Evaluating Course Completion, Appropriateness, and Burden in the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis Massive Open Online Course: Cohort Study.

Background: Massive open online course (MOOC) research is an emerging field; to date, most research in this area has focused on participant engagement.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate both participant engagement and measures of satisfaction, appropriateness, and burden for a MOOC entitled Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) among a cohort of 3518 international course participants.

Methods: We assessed the association of key outcomes with participant education level, MS status, caregiver status, sex, and age using summary statistics, and 2-tailed t tests, and chi-square tests.

Association between MS-related knowledge, health literacy, self-efficacy, resilience, and quality of life in a large cohort of MS community members: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite their potential importance, little is known about the associations between multiple sclerosis (MS) knowledge and other outcomes among MS community members.

Objective: To examine the relationships between MS-related knowledge, health literacy, self-efficacy, resilience, quality of life (QoL), and MS symptom severity in a cohort of MS community members.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study (N = 1993), we assessed a cohort of Understanding MS online course enrolees using means and standard deviations.

Work productivity trajectories of Australians living with multiple sclerosis: A group-based modelling approach.

Background: Studies have documented reduced work capacity and work productivity loss in multiple sclerosis (MS). Little is known about the longitudinal trajectories of work productivity in MS.

Objectives: To examine trajectories of work productivity in people living with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and the factors associated with the trajectories.

Development and psychometric properties of the Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Assessment Scale: Rasch analysis of a novel tool for evaluating MS knowledge.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS)-related knowledge is an important evaluation metric for health education interventions. However, few MS knowledge assessment tools are currently available for use.

Objectives: This study aims to develop a reliable and valid Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Assessment Scale (MSKAS) for use in the MS community and the general public.

Changes in multiple sclerosis symptoms are associated with changes in work productivity of people living with multiple sclerosis.

Background: While employment rates have increased in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), little is known about the longitudinal trends of work productivity.

Objective: To describe the longitudinal patterns of work productivity and examine the factors associated with annual change of work productivity of PwMS.

Methods: Study participants were employed participants of the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS) followed from 2015 to 2019 with at least two repeated measures ( = 2121).

Ultrafast thin-disk multipass amplifier with 720 mJ operating at kilohertz repetition rate for applications in atmospheric research.

We present an ultrafast thin-disk based multipass amplifier operating at a wavelength of 1030 nm, designed for atmospheric research in the framework of the Laser Lightning Rod project. The CPA system delivers a pulse energy of 720 mJ and a pulse duration of 920 fs at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The 240 mJ seed pulses generated by a regenerative amplifier are amplified to the final energy in a multipass amplifier via four industrial thin-disk laser heads.

Active pump-seed-pulse synchronization for OPCPA with sub-2-fs residual timing jitter: erratum.

In the original manuscript, a residual RMS timing jitter below 2 fs between pump and seed pulses in the stabilized case was claimed. Following a reevaluation of the data, this was underestimated. Due to a rounding error in the calibration routine, a miscalculated calibration factor was extracted.

Representativeness of the participants in the smoking Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CPIT): a cross-sectional study.

Background: The limited representativeness of trial samples may restrict external validity. The aim of this study was to ascertain the representativeness of the population enrolled in the Cessation in Pregnancy Incentives Trial (CPIT), a therapeutic exploratory study to examine the effectiveness of financial incentives for smoking cessation during pregnancy.

Methods: CPIT participants (n = 492) were compared with all self-reported smokers at maternity booking who did not participate in the trial (n = 1982).

CEP-stable, sub-6 fs, 300-kHz OPCPA system with more than 15 W of average power.

We report on a CEP-stable OPCPA system reaching multi-GW peak powers at 300 kHz repetition rate. It delivers 15 W of average power, over 50 µJ of compressed pulse energy and a pulse duration below 6 fs. By implementing an additional pump-seed-synchronization, the output parameters are stabilized over hours with power fluctuations of less than 1.

Active pump-seed-pulse synchronization for OPCPA with sub-2-fs residual timing jitter.

Short-pulse-pumped optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) requires a precise temporal overlap of the interacting pulses in the nonlinear crystal to achieve stable performance. We present active synchronization of the ps-pump pulses and the broadband seed pulses used in an OPCPA system with a residual timing jitter below 2 fs. This unprecedented stability was achieved utilizing optical parametric amplification to generate the error signal, requiring less than 4 pJ of seed- and 10 µJ of pump-pulse-energy in the optical setup.

Five-year evaluation of Lifecore Restore implants: a retrospective comparison with Nobel Biocare MK II implants.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare survival rates and marginal bone resorption of the Lifecore (LC) Restore Implant System with the benchmark Nobel Biocare (NB) MK II Implant System.

Materials And Methods: All implants were inserted by the same surgeon and all radiological analyses were performed by the same radiologist. Two hundred ninety LC implants were analyzed radiologically after 1 year and compared with the same number of NB implants serving as a historical reference group.

Loose gold screws frequently occur in full-arch fixed prostheses supported by osseointegrated implants after 5 years.

The possible occurrence of loose gold and abutment screws retaining full-arch osseointegrated prostheses has been investigated. The prostheses had been in use for at least 5 years. The findings were related to clinical parameters such as accuracy of the superstructure, operator dependence, and clinical and radiological diagnosis of implant status after 5 years.

Titanium copings veneered with Procera ceramics: a longitudinal clinical study.

In 1989, 47 titanium copings veneered with a low-fusing ceramic were fabricated for 24 patients. Forty-four crowns could be examined after a period varying between 26 and 30 months. It was found that the bulk ceramic of two crowns had fractured.

A clinical examination of ceramic (Cerec) inlays.

Two hundred and five Cerec ceramic inlays placed by 8 dentists in 72 patients were examined independently by 3 calibrated evaluators 12-24 months after insertion, using the criteria of the California Dental Association (CDA) and also certain periodontal variables. Proximal dental plaque and bleeding on probing were not seen more often on Cerec surfaces than on control homologous surfaces. Ten patients reported postoperative sensitivity after treatment with Cerec inlays.

The castability of unalloyed titanium in three different casting machines.

The general demand for a variety of fine detail work made of titanium has resulted in the development of equipment/systems for the casting of this metal. Dental casting machines suitable for the casting of titanium are now also available. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the possibility of precision casting of dental crown restorations of unalloyed titanium.

[Gonalgia: treatment with therapeutic local anesthesia. Results of a controlled comparative study versus diclofenac].

The effectiveness and tolerance of therapeutic local anesthesia (TLA) with lidocaine was compared with those of oral diclofenac in a controlled, open, randomized study involving 76 patients with gonalgia due to gonarthrosis or patellar chondropathy. During the course of the three-week (maximum) treatment, the summed score of pain at rest, pain on movement, and restricted mobility, taken as the target parameter of effectiveness, decreased significantly more markedly (p = 0.008) under TLA, than under diclofenac.