Systematic re-review of WASH trials to assess women's engagement in intervention delivery and research activities.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions significantly reduce health risks in low- and middle-income countries. Many rely on women, but the extent of women's engagement remains undocumented. Here we conducted a re-review of papers from two systematic reviews that assessed the effectiveness of water, sanitation and/or handwashing with soap interventions on diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections to assess women's roles in WASH research and intervention activities.

The development and validation of a survey to measure fecal-oral child exposure to zoonotic enteropathogens: The FECEZ Enteropathogens Index.

Child exposure to animal feces and associated enteropathogens contribute to a significant burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries. However, there are no standardized, validated survey-based approaches to enable accurate assessment of child exposure to zoonotic enteropathogens. We developed and validated a survey-based measure of exposure, the fecal-oral child exposure to zoonotic enteropathogens Index (the FECEZ Enteropathogens Index).

Advanced Hydrogels in Breast Cancer Therapy.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for women. Depending on the tumor grade and stage, breast cancer is primarily treated with surgery and antineoplastic therapy. Direct or indirect side effects, emotional trauma, and unpredictable outcomes accompany these traditional therapies, calling for therapies that could improve the overall treatment and recovery experiences of patients.

PD-1 Limits IL-2 Production and Thymic Regulatory T Cell Development.

Inhibitory proteins, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), have been studied extensively in peripheral T cell responses to foreign Ags, self-Ags, and neoantigens. Notably, these proteins are first expressed during T cell development in the thymus. Reports suggest that PD-1 limits regulatory T cell (Treg) development, but the mechanism by which PD-1 exerts this function remains unknown.

Aβ Amyloid Fibers Drastically Alter the Topography and Mechanical Properties of Lipid Membranes.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is related to the fibrillation of the Aβ peptides at neuronal membranes, a process that depends on the lipid composition and may impart different physical states to the membrane. In the present work, we study the properties of the Aβ peptide when mixed with a zwitterionic lipid (DMPC), using the Langmuir monolayer technique as an approach to control membrane physical conditions. First, we build on previous characterizations of pure Aβ monolayers and observe that, in addition to high shear, these films present a pronounced compressional hysteresis.

Research priorities for improving menstrual health across the life-course in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Research on menstrual health is required to understand menstrual needs and generate solutions to improve health, wellbeing, and productivity. The identification of research priorities will help inform where to invest efforts and resources.

Objectives: To identify research priorities for menstrual health across the life-course, in consultation with a range of stakeholder groups from a variety of geographic regions, and to identify if menstrual health research priorities varied by expertise.

Synthesising the evidence for effective hand hygiene in community settings: an integrated protocol for multiple related systematic reviews.

Introduction: Despite evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of hand hygiene in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases, there are gaps in global normative guidance around hand hygiene in community settings. The goal of this review is to systematically retrieve and synthesise available evidence on hand hygiene in community settings across four areas: (1) effective hand hygiene; (2) minimum requirements; (3) behaviour change and (4) government measures.

Methods And Analysis: This protocol entails a two-phased approach to identify relevant studies for multiple related systematic reviews.

Quantifying Enteropathogen Contamination along Chicken Value Chains in Maputo, Mozambique: A Multidisciplinary and Mixed-Methods Approach to Identifying High Exposure Settings.

Background: Small-scale poultry production is widespread and increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Exposure to enteropathogens in poultry feces increases the hazard of human infection and related sequela, and the burden of disease due to enteric infection in children y in particular is substantial. Yet, the containment and management of poultry-associated fecal waste in informal settings in LMICs is largely unregulated.

Facilitators, barriers, and key influencers of breastfeeding among low birthweight infants: a qualitative study in India, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Background: Low birthweight (LBW) infants are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Exclusive breastfeeding up to six months is recommended to help them thrive through infection prevention, growth improvements, and enhancements in neurodevelopment. However, limited data exist on the feeding experiences of LBW infants, their caregivers and key community influencers.

Indicators for National and Global Monitoring of Girls' Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Development of a Priority Shortlist.

Purpose: Despite the importance of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for adolescent girls' health, education, and gender equality, few countries monitor MHH. MHH needs remain underprioritized, and progress achieved through policies, programs, or investments go unmeasured. This article reports the systematic development of an indicator shortlist to monitor adolescent girls' MHH at the national and global levels across low- and middle-income countries.

Recommendations for hand hygiene in community settings: a scoping review of current international guidelines.

Background: Hand hygiene is an important measure to prevent disease transmission.

Objective: To summarise current international guideline recommendations for hand hygiene in community settings and to assess to what extent they are consistent and evidence based.

Eligibility Criteria: We included international guidelines with one or more recommendations on hand hygiene in community settings-categorised as domestic, public or institutional-published by international organisations, in English or French, between 1 January 1990 and 15 November 2021.

Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in domestic settings: a global analysis for selected adverse health outcomes.

Background: Assessments of disease burden are important to inform national, regional, and global strategies and to guide investment. We aimed to estimate the drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-attributable burden of disease for diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, undernutrition, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, using the WASH service levels used to monitor the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as counterfactual minimum risk-exposure levels.

Methods: We assessed the WASH-attributable disease burden of the four health outcomes overall and disaggregated by region, age, and sex for the year 2019.

Thymic expression of immune checkpoint molecules and their implication for response to immunotherapies.

The thymus is responsible for generating a diverse T cell repertoire that is tolerant to self, but capable of responding to various immunologic insults, including cancer. Checkpoint blockade has changed the face of cancer treatment by targeting inhibitory molecules, which are known to regulate peripheral T cell responses. However, these inhibitory molecules and their ligands are expressed during T cell development in the thymus.

Facility-based care for moderately low birthweight infants in India, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Globally, increasing rates of facility-based childbirth enable early intervention for small vulnerable newborns. We describe health system-level inputs, current feeding, and discharge practices for moderately low birthweight (MLBW) infants (1500-<2500g) in resource-constrained settings. The Low Birthweight Infant Feeding Exploration study is a mixed methods observational study in 12 secondary- and tertiary-level facilities in India, Malawi, and Tanzania.

The Agency, Resources, and Institutional Structures for Sanitation-related Empowerment (ARISE) Scales: Development and validation of measures of women's empowerment in urban sanitation for low- and middle-income countries.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all, and target 6.2 emphasizes "paying special attention to the needs of women and girls". Research documenting how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions impact women's and girls' lives is growing.

Measurement in the study of human exposure to animal feces: A systematic review and audit.

Background: Human exposure to animal feces is increasingly recognized as an important transmission route of enteric pathogens. Yet, there are no consistent or standardized approaches to measurement of this exposure, limiting assessment of the human health effects and scope of the issue.

Objective: To inform and improve approaches to the measurement of human exposure to animal feces, we audited existing measurement in low- and middle-income countries.

Feeding practices and growth patterns of moderately low birthweight infants in resource-limited settings: results from a multisite, longitudinal observational study.

Objectives: To describe the feeding profile of low birthweight (LBW) infants in the first half of infancy; and to examine growth patterns and early risk factors of poor 6-month growth outcomes.

Design: Prospective observational cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Stable, moderately LBW (1.

Restored Thymic Output after Androgen Blockade Participates in Antitumor Immunity.

The thymus is a hormone-sensitive organ, which involutes with age in response to production of sex steroids. Thymic involution leads to a decrease in the generation of recent thymic emigrants (RTEs), resulting in a reduced response to immune challenges such as cancer. Interestingly, the standard of care for prostate cancer patients is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which leads to thymic regeneration and an increase in thymic output.