Blood-based diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis: A prospective cohort study in South Africa and Dominican Republic.

Objectives: Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is complicated by challenges in obtaining invasive respiratory specimens that frequently contain few Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacilli. We report the diagnostic performance of an Mtb antigen-derived peptide (MAP-TB) assay and its ability to monitor TB treatment response.

Methods: Study cohorts enrolled children who presented with presumptive TB at two hospitals in South Africa from 2012 to 2017 (157 children aged <13 years) and at community-based clinics in the Dominican Republic from 2019 to 2023 (101 children aged <18 years).

Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Evaluating the Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Knee Osteoarthritis: Adherence to Minimum Information for Studies Evaluating Biologics in Orthopaedics.

Background: The Minimum Information for Studies Evaluating Biologics in Orthopedics (MIBO) guidelines were developed in May 2017 to encourage improved reporting standards, promote increased transparency and reproducibility, and enhance clinical evaluation capabilities. The MIBO guidelines consist of 23 checklist items considered necessary to critically appraise clinical studies evaluating platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Purpose: To assess randomized controlled trials that evaluated PRP for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis in order to systematically review their adherence to the MIBO guidelines.

Levofloxacin Preventive Treatment in Children Exposed to MDR Tuberculosis.

Background: Worldwide, approximately 2 million children younger than 15 years of age are infected with multidrug-resistant (MDR) , with MDR tuberculosis developing in approximately 30,000 annually. Evidence from randomized, controlled trials on tuberculosis preventive treatment in persons exposed to MDR tuberculosis is lacking.

Methods: In this community-based, multisite, double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled trial in South Africa, we assessed the efficacy and safety of levofloxacin as preventive treatment in children with household exposure to an adult with bacteriologically confirmed MDR pulmonary tuberculosis.

Influence of musical training on temporal productions when using fast and slow counting paces.

The aim of the study was to assess the ability to maintain a steady pace during a counting task, aloud or silently, when a fast (28 counts every 900 ms) or slow (18 counts every 1,400 ms) pace is adopted (target = 25,200 ms), and to test whether ability is the same for musician and nonmusicians. The study analyzes the mean and variability of 30 temporal productions. The results show more variability (a larger coefficient of variation: standard deviation/mean production) in the condition where the pace is slow, a finding consistent with previous reports with this task.

Projected estimates of cancer in Canada in 2024.

Background: Cancer surveillance data are essential to help understand where gaps exist and progress is being made in cancer control. We sought to summarize the expected impact of cancer in Canada in 2024, with projections of new cancer cases and deaths from cancer by sex and province or territory for all ages combined.

Methods: We obtained data on new cancer cases (i.

Dental complexity and diet in amniotes: A meta-analysis.

Tooth morphology is among the most well-studied indicators of ecology. For decades, researchers have examined the gross morphology and wear patterns of teeth as indicators of diet, and recent advances in scanning and computer analysis have allowed the development of new and more quantitative measures of tooth morphology. One of the most popular of these new methods is orientation patch count (OPC).

Progress in cancer control leads to a substantial number of cancer deaths avoided in Canada.

It is currently not known how many more cancer deaths would have occurred among Canadians if cancer mortality rates were unchanged following various modern human interventions. The objective of this study was to estimate the number of cancer deaths that have been avoided in Canada since the age-standardized overall cancer mortality rate peaked in 1988. We applied the age-specific overall cancer mortality rates from 1988 to the Canadian population for all subsequent years to estimate the number of expected deaths.

comparison of human plasma-based and self-assembled tissue-engineered skin substitutes: two different manufacturing processes for the treatment of deep and difficult to heal injuries.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare side-by-side two models of human bilayered tissue-engineered skin substitutes (hbTESSs) designed for the treatment of severely burned patients. These are the scaffold-free self-assembled skin substitute (SASS) and the human plasma-based skin substitute (HPSS).

Methods: Fibroblasts and keratinocytes from three humans were extracted from skin biopsies (N = 3) and cells from the same donor were used to produce both hbTESS models.

Quantitation of Circulating Antigens by Nanopore Biosensing in Children Evaluated for Pulmonary Tuberculosis in South Africa.

Nanopore sensing of proteomic biomarkers lacks accuracy due to the ultralow abundance of targets, a wide variety of interferents in clinical samples, and the mismatch between pore and analyte sizes. By converting antigens to DNA probes via click chemistry and quantifying their characteristic signals, we show a nanopore assay with several amplification mechanisms to achieve an attomolar level limit of detection that enables quantitation of the circulating () antigen ESAT-6/CFP-10 complex in human serum. The assay's nonsputum-based feature and low-volume sample requirements make it particularly well-suited for detecting pediatric tuberculosis (TB) disease, where establishing an accurate diagnosis is greatly complicated by the paucibacillary nature of respiratory secretions, nonspecific symptoms, and challenges with sample collection.

Clinical standards for drug-susceptible TB in children and adolescents.

These clinical standards aim to provide guidance for diagnosis, treatment, and management of drug-susceptible TB in children and adolescents. Fifty-two global experts in paediatric TB participated in a Delphi consensus process. After eight rounds of revisions, 51/52 (98%) participants endorsed the final document.

Speeding up the production of clinical-grade skin substitutes using off-the-shelf decellularized self-assembled dermal matrices.

Patients with deep and extensive wounds need urgent skin coverage to re-establish the cutaneous barrier that prevents life-threatening infections and dehydration. However, the current clinically-available skin substitutes intended for permanent coverage are limited in number, and a trade-off between production time and quality must be made. Here, we report the use of decellularized self-assembled dermal matrices to reduce by half the manufacturing process time of clinical-grade skin substitutes.

UMOYA: a prospective longitudinal cohort study to evaluate novel diagnostic tools and to assess long-term impact on lung health in South African children with presumptive pulmonary TB-a study protocol.

Background: Despite a high paediatric tuberculosis (TB) burden globally, sensitive and specific diagnostic tools are lacking. In addition, no data exist on the impact of pulmonary TB on long-term child lung health in low- and middle-income countries. The prospective observational UMOYA study aims (1) to build a state-of-the-art clinical, radiological, and biological repository of well-characterised children with presumptive pulmonary TB as a platform for future studies to explore new emerging diagnostic tools and biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment response; and (2) to investigate the short and long-term impact of pulmonary TB on lung health and quality of life in children.

Revision of Flexor Tendon Repair: Factors Associated With Flexor Tenolysis.

Background: Tenolysis restores mobility to the flexor tendon through the lysis of adhesions that inhibit and negatively impact functional outcomes following flexor tendon repair. Despite extensive literature on operative techniques and therapy protocols used to minimize adhesion formation, there are limited data examining the association of patient, injury, and postoperative factors with tenolysis. This study aims to: (1) quantify tenolysis rates following flexor tendon repair or reconstruction; and (2) identify patient demographic factors, medical comorbidities, injury characteristics, postoperative diagnoses, and complications associated with tenolysis.

Time Trends in Colorectal Cancer Incidence From 1992 to 2016 and Colorectal Cancer Mortality From 1980 to 2018 by Age Group and Geography in Canada.

Introduction: Several reports have highlighted increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence among younger individuals. However, little is known about variations in CRC incidence or mortality across age subgroups in different geographical locations. We aimed to examine time trends in CRC incidence and mortality in Canada by age group and geography in this population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Investigation of the psychological length of a 1-s interval with a time production task.

Several studies using the production of 1-s intervals report instability in the results. This suggests that there is no clear representation of the value of 1 s in long-term memory. This instability may partly be explained by the specific methodological requirements of studies using 1-s production tasks.

Fungal diversity in the gut microbiome of young South African children.

Background: The fungal microbiome, or mycobiome, is a poorly described component of the gut ecosystem and little is known about its structure and development in children. In South Africa, there have been no culture-independent evaluations of the child gut mycobiota. This study aimed to characterise the gut mycobiota and explore the relationships between fungi and bacteria in the gut microbiome of children from Cape Town communities.

Update on cancer incidence trends in Canada, 1984 to 2017.

This paper highlights findings on cancer trends from the Canadian Cancer Statistics 2021 report. Trends were measured using annual percent change (APC) of age-standardized incidence rates. Overall, cancer incidence rates are declining (-1.

Shorter Treatment for Nonsevere Tuberculosis in African and Indian Children.

Background: Two thirds of children with tuberculosis have nonsevere disease, which may be treatable with a shorter regimen than the current 6-month regimen.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, treatment-shortening, noninferiority trial involving children with nonsevere, symptomatic, presumably drug-susceptible, smear-negative tuberculosis in Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, and India. Children younger than 16 years of age were randomly assigned to 4 months (16 weeks) or 6 months (24 weeks) of standard first-line antituberculosis treatment with pediatric fixed-dose combinations as recommended by the World Health Organization.