Efficacy of Massage on Pain Intensity in Post-Cesarean Women: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Cesarean section is a common surgical procedure that may be considered a safe alternative to natural birth and helps to resolve numerous obstetric conditions. Still, the Cesarean section is painful; relieving pain after a Cesarean section is crucial, therefore analgesia is necessary for the postoperative period. However, analgesia is not free of complications and contraindications, so massage may be a cost-effective method for decreasing pain post-Cesarean.

Advancing African Medicines Agency through Global Health Diplomacy for an Equitable Pan-African Universal Health Coverage: A Scoping Review.

The African continent is home to 15% of the world's population and suffers from a disease burden of more than 25% globally. In this COVID-19 era, the high burden and mortality are further worsened due to inequities, inequalities such as inadequate health systems, scarce financial and human resources, as well as unavailability of inexpensive medicines of good quality, safety, and efficacy. The Universal Health Coverage ensures that people have access to high-quality essential health services, secure, reliable, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines, as well as financial security.

Effect of different home-bleaching techniques for a regular or an extended time on enamel properties.

Context: The side effects of bleaching products are still incompletely known.

Aims: This work aims to evaluate the effects of bleaching regimens on colour variation, microstructure, roughness, composition and nanohardness of human dental enamel until 8 weeks.

Settings And Design: : Twenty teeth were cross-sectioned to obtain eighty enamel fragments (50 × 50 mm) divided into four groups: CN (control Negative-artificial saliva), CP10 (10% carbamide peroxide), HP10 (10% hydrogen peroxide), and WS (whitening strips-10% hydrogen peroxide).

Corn starch films as a long-term drug delivery system for chlorhexidine gluconate.

The present study describes the development of a chlorhexidine long-term drug delivery system using starch as a biodegradable polymer base. Three batches of thermoplastic starch films, containing starch particles/nanoparticles and chlorhexidine (CHX), were manufactured by casting. Morphological characterization showed an irregular surface with particles incorporated with chlorhexidine agglomerated in a starch matrix.

Transinnominate approach for transcatheter aortic valve replacement: single-centre experience of minimally invasive alternative access.

Objectives: Iliofemoral arteries have been the preferred access for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). When these arteries are too small, calcified or tortuous, an alternative access must be considered. Transinnominate (TI) access is an extrathoracic approach that does not require manipulation of major neurovascular structures or the apex.

Rubella, herpes simplex virus type 2 and preeclampsia.

Background: Preeclampsia is a major health problem. Although, the pathophysiology of preeclampsia is not fully understood, there are recent studies on association between infections and preeclampsia.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal seropositivity of rubella, Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and preeclampsia.

Heterogeneous Fluorescence Intermittency in Single Layer Reduced Graphene Oxide.

We provide, for the first time, direct experimental evidence for heterogeneous blinking in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) during photolysis. The spatially resolved intermittency originates from regions within individual rGO sheets and shows 1/f-like power spectral density. We describe the evolution of rGO blinking using the multiple recombination center (MRC) model that captures common features of nanoscale blinking.

Prevalence of ciprofloxacin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the intestinal flora of patients undergoing transrectal prostate biopsy in Norwich, UK.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of fluoroquinolone prophylaxis in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided biopsy of the prostate in the Norwich population, and its correlation with ciprofloxacin resistance in the faecal flora. We also aimed to determine the usefulness of a pre-biopsy rectal screen for resistant bacteria in these patients.

Patients And Methods: The incidence and microbiology of sepsis after TRUS-guided prostate biopsies between 2007 and 2011 was audited retrospectively.

Direct observation of spatially heterogeneous single-layer graphene oxide reduction kinetics.

Graphene oxide (GO) is an important precursor in the production of chemically derived graphene. During reduction, GO's electrical conductivity and band gap change gradually. Doping and chemical functionalization are also possible, illustrating GO's immense potential in creating functional devices through control of its local hybridization.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography for diagnosis of leishmaniasis in Sudan.

Background: The Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography (OC) were recently developed for simplified and standardised molecular detection of Leishmania parasites in clinical specimens. We here present the phase II evaluation of both tests for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in Sudan.

Methodology: The diagnostic accuracy of the tests was evaluated on 90 confirmed and 90 suspected VL cases, 7 confirmed and 8 suspected CL cases, 2 confirmed PKDL cases and 50 healthy endemic controls from Gedarif state and Khartoum state in Sudan.

Cytokines profiles in Sudanese women with preeclampsia.

Background: Cytokine imbalance in preeclampsia may be one of the etiological factors for preeclampsia.

Objectives: The study was conducted to investigate interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in preeclampsia. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the concentrations of these three pro-inflammatory cytokines in sera from 33 Sudanese women with preeclampsia (at presentation and 7 days later) and 32 women with normal pregnancy as a control group.

Cytokine profiles in peripheral, placental and cord blood in an area of unstable malaria transmission in eastern Sudan.

Background: Understanding the cytokine interactions that underlie both control and disease should be helpful when investigating the pathogenesis of malaria during pregnancy. Few data exists concerning pathogenesis of malaria during pregnancy in areas of unstable malaria transmission.

Objectives: The study was conducted in New Halfa hospital, eastern Sudan, which is characterized by unstable malaria transmission to investigate the cytokine profiles in peripheral, placental and cord blood in parturient women.

The association between subjective and clinical indicators of health in prospective Vietnamese migrants.

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1669 prospective Vietnamese migrants who had applied to migrate to Australia to describe the association between self-reported health status and several commonly used clinical indicators of health among prospective Vietnamese migrants. Participants were recruited from the International Organization for Migration's standardised medical screening program.' We found that clinical indicators of health are related to self-reported health status among prospective Vietnamese migrants.

Molecular prevalence of point mutations conferring resistance to clarithromycin in Helicobacter pylori in the United Arab Emirates.

Objective: The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of point mutations conferring resistance to clarithromycin in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the United Arab Emirates.

Methods: Gastric biopsy samples were obtained from 9 dyspeptic patients attending the endoscopy department in Zayed Military Hospital, Abu-Dhabi, UAE during the period from January to September 2004.

Factors affecting perinatal morbidity and mortality in pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus in Sudan.

To investigate the influence of obstetric factors and indices of maternal metabolic control on perinatal morbidity and mortality, 88 diabetic pregnant Sudanese women (type 1, n=38; type 2, n=31; gestational diabetes, n=19) and 50 non-diabetic pregnant control women were studied. The mean fasting blood glucose was 11.1+/-2.

Thyroid function in the newborn in relation to maternal thyroid status during labour in a mild iodine deficiency endemic area in Sudan.

Objectives: Data on neonatal and maternal thyroid function during labour in a mild iodine deficiency endemic area are lacking. The current study focuses on elucidating the thyroid function during labour, in a group of pregnant women who live in an area of mild iodine deficiency in Sudan compared to that observed in their corresponding newborns.

Measurements: Serum concentrations of TSH, thyroglobulin (Tg), triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxine (FT4) were investigated during labour in a group of mothers and their neonates residing in an area with mild iodine deficiency in Sudan (n = 76 mother-newborn pairs).

Changes in iodine metabolism during late pregnancy and lactation: a longitudinal study among Sudanese women.

Objective: To elucidate the persistence, or otherwise, of the pregnancy-related changes in the iodine metabolism and thyroid function in a population residing in an area of mild iodine deficiency in the Sudan.

Design: A longitudinal prospective cohort study involving pregnant women who were recruited during their third trimester of pregnancy and were followed up for up to nine months after delivery.

Setting: The study was conducted among Sudanese women residing in the Omdurman area in Khartoum, an area with a total goitre rate of 17.

Thyroglobulin in serum as an indicator of iodine status during pregnancy.

Serum thyroglobulin and thyrotropin as well as urinary iodine concentrations were measured in healthy, pregnant Swedish (n=27) and Sudanese (n=21) women and the results compared with those of healthy Swedish (n=14) and Sudanese (n=20) non-pregnant controls. The median thyroglobulin concentrations (and interquartile range) in the Swedish pregnant women for the three trimesters were 15.5 (8-24), 10.

Thyroid hormones and iodine status in Sudanese pregnant women with goitre.

Thyroid hormones in relation to iodine status were studied in a group of Sudanese pregnant women with goitre (n = 66). These women were compared with a healthy, non-pregnant control group from the same area (n = 40). Twenty-four-hour urine samples and serum samples were collected during weeks 10-13, 20-24 and 32-39 of pregnancy.

Iodine status, thyroid function and pregnancy: study of Swedish and Sudanese women.

Objective: To examine and compare the effects of pregnancy on the thyroid hormone homeostasis in two different populations with variable iodine supply.

Design: A longitudinal prospective cohort study throughout pregnancy involving Swedish and Sudanese pregnant women.

Setting: The subjects were enrolled consecutively during their antenatal follow-up at health centres at Nyby in Uppsala, Sweden and Omdurman in Sudan.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers regarding diarrhoea among children in a Sudanese rural community.

A survey of knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers in the rural communities of two villages in Sudan regarding diarrhoeal diseases in children was conducted using a focus group research technique. Seven groups of literate mothers (87 mothers) and 13 groups of illiterate mothers (152 mothers) interviewed comprised 85% of mothers with children under 5 years of age in that community. The study showed that mothers can define and describe diarrhoea, however awareness about the aetiology and the importance of germs in its causation was low.