Partnership coordination for optimized COVID-19 vaccination: a case study of Benue and Niger states.

Background: Developing countries have partnered with non-governmental and development organizations to ensure universal health coverage and promote equity in accessing health services. This study was motivated by the timely and relevant collaborative partnership among the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Sydani Consulting, and other implementing partners at the sub-national level. There is also no evidence of a study on partnership coordination vis-à-vis COVID-19 vaccine optimization.

Factors Influencing Margin Clearance and the Number of Stages of Mohs Micrographic Surgery in Basal Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Chart Review.

How patient and tumor factors influence clearance margins and the number of Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) stages when treating basal cell carcinoma (BCC) remains widely uncharacterized. It is important to elucidate these relationships, as surgical outcomes may be compared nationally between colleagues. Our objective is to evaluate the relationships between defect size and patient demographics, as well as between BCC subtypes and the number of MMS stages.

Forensic age estimation by MRI of the knee - comparison of two classifications for ossification stages in a German population.

Aim And Objectives: In forensic age estimation e.g. for judicial proceedings surpassed age thresholds can be legally relevant.

The balance between memory and regulatory cell populations in kidney transplant recipients with operational tolerance.

Donor-reactive memory cells represent a barrier to long-term kidney graft survival. A better understanding of regulatory mechanisms that counterbalance alloreactive memory responses may help to identify patients with operational tolerance. This prospective study investigated the equilibrium between memory T-cell subsets and regulatory T or B cells (Tregs, Bregs) in peripheral blood of kidney transplant recipients with operational tolerance (N = 8), chronic rejection (N = 8), and different immunosuppressive treatment regimens (N = 81).

Integrating health intervention into existing program structure of the neglected tropical diseases: lessons learned from Yobe and Ebonyi states.

Background: Nigeria has a national policy on neglected tropical diseases (NTD) which is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and integrated into the health system at all government levels. A network of grassroots mobilizers, named community drug distributors (CDDs), deliver NTD drugs and commodities to rural and hard-to-reach communities throughout Nigeria.

Methods: Interviews with state and local government coordinators of Nigerian NTD programs and focus group discussions with CDDs in Yobe and Ebonyi states were conducted to understand the working modalities of NTD programs in Nigeria to identify the potential of leveraging the NTD structure for additional health interventions such as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.

Sparse deep belief network coupled with extended local fuzzy active contour model-based liver cancer segmentation from abdomen CT images.

Liver cancer from abdominal CT images must be accurately segmented for the purpose of diagnosis with treatment planning. But, the similarity in gray values between the liver and the surrounding tissues poses a challenge. To address this, a novel sparse deep belief network coupled with extended local fuzzy active contour model-based liver cancer segmentation from abdomen CT images (SDBN-ELFAC-LCS-CT) is proposed.

The Impact of 45S5-Bioactive Glass on Synovial Cells in Knee Osteoarthritis-An In Vitro Study.

Synovial inflammation in osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by the release of cartilage-degrading enzymes and inflammatory cytokines. 45S5-bioactive glass (45S5-BG) can modulate inflammation processes; however, its influence on OA-associated inflammation has hardly been investigated. In this study, the effects of 45S5-BG on the release of cartilage-degrading metalloproteinases and cytokines from synovial membrane cells (SM) isolated from patients with knee OA was assessed in vitro.

Surgical treatment for fracture of the medial end of the clavicle associated with ipsilateral acromioclavicular dislocation.

The combination of an acromioclavicular joint dislocation and an ipsilateral medial end clavicle fracture is extremely rare. We report an acromioclavicular joint dislocation type IV associated with ipsilateral medial end clavicle fracture. The clavicular fracture was surgically treated with a locking plate and a non-operative treatment was conducted for the acromioclavicular joint dislocation.

Wafer-scale detachable monocrystalline germanium nanomembranes for the growth of III-V materials and substrate reuse.

Germanium (Ge) is increasingly used as a substrate for high-performance optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and electronic devices. These devices are usually grown on thick and rigid Ge substrates manufactured by classical wafering techniques. Nanomembranes (NMs) provide an alternative to this approach while offering wafer-scale lateral dimensions, weight reduction, waste limitation, and cost effectiveness.

Clonal expansion and rapid characterization of ST1788, an otherwise uncommon strain spreading in Wales, UK.

A multidrug-resistant strain of () sequence type (ST) 1788, an otherwise uncommon ST worldwide, was isolated from 65 patients at 11 hospitals and 11 general practices across South and West Wales, UK, between February 2019 and November 2021. A collection of 97 ST1788 isolates (including 94 from Wales) was analysed to investigate the diversity and spread across Wales and to identify molecular marker(s) to aid development of a strain-specific real-time PCR. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed with Illumina technology and the data were used to perform phylogenetic analyses.

Five-year follow-up of a phase I trial of donor-derived modified immune cell infusion in kidney transplantation.

Background: The administration of modified immune cells (MIC) before kidney transplantation led to specific immunosuppression against the allogeneic donor and a significant increase in regulatory B lymphocytes. We wondered how this approach affected the continued clinical course of these patients.

Methods: Ten patients from a phase I clinical trial who had received MIC infusions prior to kidney transplantation were retrospectively compared to 15 matched standard-risk recipients.

Results of a National Survey on the Definition of Surgical Site Infections After Mohs Micrographic Surgery.

Background: There is no standardized definition of surgical site infections (SSI) after Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) used in the clinical or research settings, which may contribute to heterogeneity in the differences in infection rates reported.

Objective: To use an electronic survey of Mohs surgeons across the country to better understand how Mohs surgeons define SSI after MMS.

Methods: A web-based survey was developed and distributed to Mohs surgeons.

Wearing different hats enriches "outside the box" thinking: Examining the relationship between personal life activity breadth and creativity at work.

People wear many salient hats across the different parts of their lives and recent advances in the work-life literature have called attention to the necessary addition of personal life activities to be studied as a unique facet of nonwork to better understand interrole relationships. We therefore draw on enrichment theory to examine why and when employees' participation in personal life activities can positively influence creativity at work through nonwork cognitive developmental resources. Moreover, by integrating insights from construal level theory, this research sheds new light on the ways people think about their personal life activities as playing a discernible role in how people can generate and/or apply resources from their activities.

Global rural health disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: State of the science.

Introduction: Individuals living in rural communities are at heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), which parallels other persistent place-based health disparities. Identifying multiple potentially modifiable risk factors specific to rural areas that contribute to ADRD is an essential first step in understanding the complex interplay between various barriers and facilitators.

Methods: An interdisciplinary, international group of ADRD researchers convened to address the overarching question of: "What can be done to begin minimizing the rural health disparities that contribute uniquely to ADRD?" In this state of the science appraisal, we explore what is known about the biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental influences on ADRD disparities in rural settings.

Development of A Rapid, Low-Cost Portable Detection Assay for Enterococci in Wastewater and Environmental Waters.

Waterborne diseases are known as a leading cause of illness and death in both developing and developed countries. Several pathogens can be present in contaminated water, particularly waters containing faecal material; however, routine monitoring of all pathogens is not currently possible. , which is present in the microflora of human and animals has been used as a faecal indicator in water due to its abundance in surface water and soil.

Metabolic Effect of Blocking Sodium-Taurocholate Co-Transporting Polypeptide in Hypercholesterolemic Humans with a Twelve-Week Course of Bulevirtide-An Exploratory Phase I Clinical Trial.

Bile acids (BA) play an important role in cholesterol metabolism and possess further beneficial metabolic effects as signalling molecules. Blocking the hepatocellular uptake of BA via sodium-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) with the first-in-class drug bulevirtide, we expected to observe a decrease in plasma LDL cholesterol. In this exploratory phase I clinical trial, volunteers with LDL cholesterol > 130 mg/dL but without overt atherosclerotic disease were included.

Two Thymomas of Different Histological Subtypes Arising in a Giant Thymolipoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumor of the anterior mediastinum. Only a few reports describing thymoma arising within a thymolipoma have been documented in the literature. We report herein a detailed description of thymolipoma giving rise to 2 thymomas of different histological subtypes.

Induction of Long-Lasting Regulatory B Lymphocytes by Modified Immune Cells in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: We recently demonstrated that donor-derived modified immune cells (MICs)-PBMCs that acquire immunosuppressive properties after a brief treatment-induced specific immunosuppression against the allogeneic donor when administered before kidney transplantation. We found up to a 68-fold increase in CD19 + CD24 hi CD38 hi transitional B lymphocytes compared with transplanted controls.

Methods: Ten patients from a phase 1 clinical trial who had received MIC infusions before kidney transplantation were followed to post-transplant day 1080.

Preoperative CD52 Level Predicts Graft Survival following Kidney Transplantation.

Several factors have been reported to affect graft survival following kidney transplantation. CD52 molecules may increase T cell proliferation and activation, which may contribute to acute graft rejection and graft survival. In the current study, we studied the possible value of preoperative CD52 levels in predicting graft survival following renal transplantation.

Mechanical Characteristics Evaluation of a Single Ply and Multi-Ply Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Subjected to Tensile and Bending Loads.

Carbon fiber-reinforced composites represent a broadly utilized class of materials in aeronautical applications, due to their high-performance capability. The studied CFRP is manufactured from a 3K carbon biaxial fabric 0°/90° with high tensile resistance, reinforced with high-performance thermoset molding epoxy vinyl ester resin. The macroscale experimental characterization has constituted the subject of various studies, with the scope of assessing overall structural performance.