Nurse-Led Mobile Phone Intervention to Promote Self-Management in Type 2 Diabetes in Ghana: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of a nurse-led mobile phone intervention (NMPI) on glycemic variability and self-management among people living with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Ghana.

Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, the intervention group received a 3-month NMPI program plus standard care, and the control group received standard care alone in a tertiary health care setting. Ninety-eight participants (baseline A1C > 7%) were randomized 1:1 to either NMPI or standard care group.

Association between outdoor artificial light at night and low birth weight in California.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental issue associated with adverse health consequences, but the association with low birth weight remains unknown. We aim to explore associations between outdoor ALAN and low birth weight across 7,808 census tracts in California. We use data from the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) at the census tract level.

Advancing Breast Cancer Diagnosis: The Impact of Elastography Integration Into Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) Categorization.

Objective: This study evaluates the impact of integrating elastography into the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) categorization on breast cancer diagnostics in an African population. It explores the association and agreement between traditional BIRADS and those modified by elastography, as well as between quantitative and qualitative elastography methods.

Methods: A total of 200 participants who underwent breast imaging as part of their diagnostic evaluation for breast lesions were included in the study.

Shear Wave Elastography in Breast Cancer: Unveiling Correlations With Histopathological Grades and Subtypes.

Objective This study explores the correlation between shear wave elastography (SWE) features and histopathological grades and subtypes in breast cancer, aiming to enhance diagnostic accuracy and personalized treatment strategies. Methods The study retrospectively analyzed 59 consecutive women with breast cancer who underwent breast ultrasound with SWE. SWE parameters and histopathologic information, including histological type and grade, were recorded.

Anatomic Locations and Metastatic Risk in Prostate Cancer in African Men: Insights From an African Cohort.

Background: There is significant variability in the pathogenetic characteristics of prostate cancer (PCa) across different anatomical zones. This study aims to understand the metastatic risk associated with these zonal predispositions among African men.

Methods: This hospital-based retrospective observational study included 120 biopsy-confirmed PCa patients examined between 2019 and 2023.

Microwave Thermal Ablation for Breast Cancer in Africa: A Pioneering Case Report Utilizing TATOpro.

The adoption of minimally invasive treatments for early-stage breast cancer is increasing. Microwave thermal ablation (MWA), a minimally invasive technique, has been studied for treating small breast cancer lesions. However, long-term evidence on its efficacy as a sole treatment is limited, as most studies combine MWA with other therapies and post-treatment surgical excision.

EfficientMaize: A Lightweight Dataset for Maize Classification on Resource-Constrained Devices.

Hyperspectral imaging, combined with deep learning techniques, has been employed to classify maize. However, the implementation of these automated methods often requires substantial processing and computing resources, presenting a significant challenge for deployment on embedded devices due to high GPU power consumption. Access to Ghanaian local maize data for such classification tasks is also extremely difficult in Ghana.

Exploring virtual funding committee practices in the allocation of National Institute for Health and Care Research funding: A netnographic study.

Background: Funding committees, comprising members with a range of knowledge, skills, and experience, are considered integral to the decision-making process of funding organisations for recommending or allocating research funding. However, there is limited research investigating the decision-making processes, the role of members and their social interactions during funding committee meetings conducted both virtually and face-to-face.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods design and following netnography principles, the study observed nine National Institute for Health and Care Research programmes funding committee meetings conducted virtually during October 2020 to December 2021; complemented by interviews with committee chairs and members (18 interviews) and NIHR staff (12 interviews); an online survey (50 responses); and documentary analysis.

Advancing Prostate Cancer Staging: A Single-Step Approach With Bi-parametric and Whole-Body Diffusion MRI in an African Cohort.

Objectives:  To document our initial experience using whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (WB-DWI/MRI) and bi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (bpMRI) as a single exam in the staging of biopsy-proven prostate cancers.

Methods: This retrospective study involved 120 African men with biopsy-confirmed prostate cancer (PCa). All the participants had a single exam that included both a bpMRI and a WB-DWI/MRI.

Associations of Serum Vitamin D With Dental Caries and Periodontitis: The HUNT Study.

Objective: To study the relationships of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with dental caries and periodontitis in a general Norwegian adult population.

Methods: We analysed a subsample of 1605 participants from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway that had serum 25(OH)D levels measured in HUNT3 (2006-08) and oral health assessed in the HUNT4 Oral Health Study (2017-19). Negative binomial and Poisson regression models were used to estimate the ratios of means (RMs; for count oral outcomes) and prevalence ratios (PRs; for dichotomous oral outcomes).

Analysis, treatment modality and demographic characteristics of urolithiasis patients visiting Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Background: Globally urolithiasis is on the rise and gradually becoming a public health concern due to the associated complications. This study reviewed the demographic characteristics, the chemical composition of stones, treatment modality and duration of hospitalisation of urolithiasis patients at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted between March 2019 and April 2022.

Formulation and Evaluation of Herbal-Based Antiacne Gel Preparations.

Acne vulgaris is an inflammatory skin condition that affects virtually everyone at some point. Papules, comedones, pustules, scarring, and nodules are standard features of the disease and can have a detrimental social and psychological impact on an individual. Although allopathic acne treatments are available, they have adverse side effects, are expensive, and are prone to cause antibiotic resistance.

Characterisation and prion transmission study in mice with genetic reduction of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease risk gene Stx6.

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), the most common human prion disease, is thought to occur when the cellular prion protein (PrP) spontaneously misfolds and assembles into prion fibrils, culminating in fatal neurodegeneration. In a genome-wide association study of sCJD, we recently identified risk variants in and around the gene STX6, with evidence to suggest a causal increase of STX6 expression in disease-relevant brain regions. STX6 encodes syntaxin-6, a SNARE protein primarily involved in early endosome to trans-Golgi network retrograde transport.

Arteriovenous malformation of the ear optimized with cinematic rendering images: A case presentation and review of literature.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) define rare aberrations in vascular morphogenesis. AVMs are typically present at birth, and unless they are stimulated to grow quickly by trauma, illness, or hormonal effects, they enlarge in proportion to an individual's growth. Clinical manifestations of AVMs are often linked to abnormal mass effects and blood perfusion.

Vitamin D Status Over Time and Cognitive Function in Norwegian Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort of the HUNT Study.

Background: There is conflicting evidence regarding the association between vitamin D status and cognitive function in population studies. The use of one-time vitamin D measurement in cognitive health studies may not reflect long-term vitamin D status in the body.

Objective: We aimed to examine the relationship of vitamin D status measured over time with the risk of neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) in Norwegian older adults.

Stories of restitution: Family experiences of diagnosis and help-seeking for a child with cerebral palsy.

Background: The experience of living with children with CP is dominated by the voice of the mother while others are rarely reported. Incorporation of the voices of other family members is important for a holistic understanding.

Methods: Drawing on the philosophical perspectives of pragmatism, generic qualitative methodology, and Frank's narratives, this article highlights how restitution was constructed by 30 family members.

Overexpression of mouse prion protein in transgenic mice causes a non-transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

Transgenic mice over-expressing human PRNP or murine Prnp transgenes on a mouse prion protein knockout background have made key contributions to the understanding of human prion diseases and have provided the basis for many of the fundamental advances in prion biology, including the first report of synthetic mammalian prions. In this regard, the prion paradigm is increasingly guiding the exploration of seeded protein misfolding in the pathogenesis of other neurodegenerative diseases. Here we report that a well-established and widely used line of such mice (Tg20 or tga20), which overexpress wild-type mouse prion protein, exhibit spontaneous aggregation and accumulation of misfolded prion protein in a strongly age-dependent manner, which is accompanied by focal spongiosis and occasional neuronal loss.

Three-Dimensional Co-Culture Method for Studying Interactions Between Adipocytes, Extracellular Matrix, and Cancer Cells.

Three-dimensional (D) culture models are increasingly becoming the model of choice for studying different biological phenomena such as cell-cell interaction, drug resistance, and gene expression. These models include extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that better model the in vivo conditions as it allows cells to have both cell-cell and cell-ECM contacts. In the context of the tumor microenvironment, there are additional types of cells present in addition to the ECM.

How Does Leader Humility Influence Team Creativity? The Roles of Team Behavioral Integration and Leader Performance.

This study developed and tested a research model to examine the influence of leader humility on team creativity. Drawing on social learning theory, we tested team behavioral integration as a mediator in the relationship between leader humility and team creativity. Moreover, we tested the moderating effect of leader performance on this mediated relationship.

The Analysis of Human Epidermal Growth Receptor-2 (HER-2) in Gastric Cancer in a Tertiary Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: In Ghana, gastric cancer contributes significantly to cancer morbidity and mortality. However, the recent usage of HER-2 monoclonal antibody in combination with chemotherapy has greatly improved the overall survival of patients. This study, therefore, aims at evaluating the pattern of HER-2 over expression in gastric carcinomas in Kumasi, Ghana.

Pharmaceutical Assessment of Gum as a Binder and Disintegrant in Immediate-Release Tablets.

Excipients are components other than active ingredients that are added to pharmaceutical formulations. Naturally sourced excipients are gradually gaining preeminence over synthetically sourced excipients due to local availability and continuous supply. This study aimed to investigate the binding and disintegrating characteristics of gum extracted from the bark of tree.

Social Networks in Limbo. The Experiences of Older Adults During COVID-19 in Ghana.

While studies exploring COVID-19 and its global influence have begun, social networks and support among older adults in low-and middle-income countries, such as Ghana have been inadequate despite its enormous relevance. Thus, the study presents the voices of older adults in Jamestown, Accra and their social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected from 15 older adults through in-depth interviews on older adults' social network experiences during COVID-19 pandemic situation.