Accuracy of Alternative PHQ-9 Scoring Algorithms to Screen for Depression in People Living With HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Screening for depression remains a priority for people living with HIV (PLWH) accessing care. The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely used depression screening tool, but has limited accuracy when applied across various cultural contexts. We aimed to evaluate the performance of alternative PHQ-9 scoring algorithms in sub-Saharan African PLWH.

Perceptions, facilitators and barriers to the implementation of interpersonal group therapy to treat depression among people living with HIV in Senegal: a qualitative study.

Background: Depression is highly prevalent in people living with HIV (PLWH) but remains under treated in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, we conducted the first study of Group Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) to treat depression in PLWH in Senegal. We assessed the perceptions and experiences of patients and group facilitators, as well as barriers to implementation.

Management of depression in people living with HIV/AIDS in Senegal: Acceptability, feasibility and benefits of group interpersonal therapy.

Depression is highly prevalent in people living with HIV (PLWH) and has negative consequences for daily life and care. We evaluated for the first time the acceptability, feasibility and benefits of group interpersonal therapy (IPT), combined with a task-shifting approach, to treat depression in PLWH in Senegal. PLWH with depression received group IPT following the World Health Organization protocol.

Factors associated with verbal fluency in older adults living with HIV in West Africa: A longitudinal study.

Objective: Verbal fluency decline, observed both in aging and HIV infection, has been related to lower quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with categorical fluency in people living with HIV (PLHIV) aged ≥60 years living in West Africa.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, PLHIV aged ≥60 years, on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for ≥6 months were included in three clinics (two in Côte d'Ivoire, one in Senegal) participating in the West Africa International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) collaboration.

Effect of systematic tuberculosis detection on mortality in young children with severe pneumonia in countries with high incidence of tuberculosis: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial.

Background: Tuberculosis diagnosis might be delayed or missed in children with severe pneumonia because this diagnosis is usually only considered in cases of prolonged symptoms or antibiotic failure. Systematic tuberculosis detection at hospital admission could increase case detection and reduce mortality.

Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial in 16 hospitals from six countries (Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia) with high incidence of tuberculosis.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices on childhood TB among healthcare workers.

Increasing childhood TB case detection requires the deployment of diagnostic services at peripheral healthcare level. Capacity and readiness of healthcare workers (HCWs) are key to the delivery of innovative approaches. In 2019, HCWs from five district hospitals (DHs) and 20 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d´Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Uganda completed a self-administered knowledge-attitudes-practices (KAP) questionnaire on childhood TB.

Effects of Age, Level of Education and HIV Status on Cognitive Performance in West African Older Adults: The West Africa IeDEA Cohort Collaboration.

An in-depth understanding of the impact of aging, cognitive reserve, and HIV status on cognitive function is needed in older West African adults. Ninety-nine HIV-negative and 334 HIV-positive adults aged ≥ 50 years were enrolled in three clinics (Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire) participating in the IeDEA West Africa collaboration. All subjects underwent the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) and the Isaacs Set Test (IST).

Impact of systematic early tuberculosis detection using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra in children with severe pneumonia in high tuberculosis burden countries (TB-Speed pneumonia): a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial.

Background: In high tuberculosis (TB) burden settings, there is growing evidence that TB is common in children with pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children under 5 years worldwide. The current WHO standard of care (SOC) for young children with pneumonia considers a diagnosis of TB only if the child has a history of prolonged symptoms or fails to respond to antibiotic treatments. As a result, many children with TB-associated severe pneumonia are currently missed or diagnosed too late.

Cerebral alterations in West African HIV and non-HIV adults aged ≥50: An MRI study.

Objectives: To cross-sectionally describe brain alterations in PLHIV aged above 50 years old, receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and living in Senegal compared to HIV-negative subjects.

Methods: Twenty PLHIV and 26 HIV-negative subjects with comparable socio-demographic and clinical characteristics underwent an MRI exam (3D-T1 and FLAIR sequences). Global atrophy and White Matter Hyperintensities (WMH) were evaluated.

Prevalence and factors associated with physical function limitation in older West African people living with HIV.

Although physical function decline is common with aging, the burden of this impairment remains underestimated in patients living with HIV (PLHIV), particularly in the older people receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). PLHIV aged ≥50 years old and on ART since ≥6 months were included (N = 333) from three clinics (two in Côte d'Ivoire, one in Senegal) participating in the International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) West Africa collaboration. Physical function was measured using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the unipodal balance test and self-reported questionnaires.

Retention-in-care in the PMTCT cascade: definitions matter! Analyses from the INSPIRE projects in Malawi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Introduction: Definitions of retention-in-care in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) vary substantially between studies and programmes. Some definitions are based on visits missed/made, others on a minimum total number of visits, or attendance at a final clinic visit at a specific time. An agreed definition could contribute to developing evidence-based interventions for improving retention-in-care.

Prevalence and factors associated with severe depressive symptoms in older west African people living with HIV.

Background: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Depression has a negative impact on both mental and physical health and is mainly associated with suboptimal HIV treatment outcomes. To encourage successful aging and the achievement of the 3 × 90 objectives in older PLHIV, the psychological domain must not be neglected.

Barriers influencing task-shifting for the management of depression in people living with HIV: a study from West Africa IeDEA cohort collaboration.

Depression is highly prevalent in people living with HIV (PLHIV) worldwide. As mental health specialists are scarce in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages task-shifting. We aimed to evaluate the barriers that could compromise task-shifting in front-line health care workers (HCWs) who provide HIV integrated care in West Africa.

Prevalence and predictors of no lifetime utilization of mental health treatment among people with mental disorders in France: findings from the 'Mental Health in General Population' (MHGP) survey.

Purpose: No lifetime utilization of mental health treatment (NUMT) is an indicator of the treatment gap among people in need of treatment. Until now, the overall prevalence and predictors of NUMT have never been explored in France.

Methods: In a 39,617-respondent survey, participants were assessed for NUMT, i.

Patterns of Attendance at Mother Support Groups in Zimbabwe. The EPAZ Trial (2014-2016).

Background: In Southern Africa, groups of mothers living with HIV successfully provide peer psychosocial support during pregnancy and early childhood. We report patterns of attendance at Mother Support Groups (MSGs) sessions among women and mothers living with HIV in rural Zimbabwe.

Methods: In the Elimination of Pediatric AIDS cluster-randomized trial, MSGs were established in 14 health facilities in Mutare and Makoni districts.

Impact of Facility-Based Mother Support Groups on Retention in Care and PMTCT Outcomes in Rural Zimbabwe: The EPAZ Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission elimination goals are hampered by low rates of retention in care. The Eliminating Paediatric AIDS in Zimbabwe project assessed whether mother support groups (MSGs) improve rates of retention in care of HIV-exposed infants and their HIV-positive mothers, and maternal and infant outcomes.

Methods: The study involved 27 rural clinics in eastern Zimbabwe.

Alcohol Use Disorders and Immigration up to the Third Generation in France: Findings from a 39,617-Subject Survey in the General Population.

Background: In the United States, first-generation immigrants (FGIs) show lower prevalence rates of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) than the native population, although they experience more psychosocial risk factors. This epidemiological phenomenon is called an "immigrant paradox." No previous study has investigated whether immigrants also exhibit a reduced risk of AUDs in Europe.

A kinetico-mechanistic study on the C-H bond activation of primary benzylamines; cooperative and solid-state cyclopalladation on dimeric complexes.

The cyclometallation reactions of dinuclear μ-acetato complexes of the type [Pd(AcO)(μ-AcO)L]2 (L = 4-RC6H4CH2NH2, R = H, Cl, F, CF3), a process found to occur readily even in the solid state, have been studied from a kinetico-mechanistic perspective. Data indicate that the dinuclear acetato bridged derivatives are excellent starting materials to activate carbon-hydrogen bonds in a facile way. In all cases the established concerted ambiphilic proton abstraction by a coordinated acetato ligand has been proved.

Reversible rearrangements of Cu(II) cage complexes: solvent and anion influences.

The macrobicyclic mixed donor cage ligand AMME-N3S3sar (1-methyl-8-amino-3,13,16-trithia-6,10,19-triazabicyclo[6.6.6]eicosane) is capable of binding to Cu(II) as either a hexadentate (N3S3) or tetradentate (N2S2) ligand.

Generation of broad specificity antibodies for sulfonamide antibiotics and development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the analysis of milk samples.

Immunoreagents appropriately produced to detect a wide range of sulfonamide antibiotic congeners have been used to develop a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The selectivity has been achieved by combining antibodies raised against 5-[6-(4-aminobenzenesulfonylamino)pyridin-3-yl]-2-methylpentanoic acid (SA1), covalently coupled to horseshoe crab hemocyanin (HCH), and 5-[4-(amino)phenylsulfonamide]-5-oxopentanoic acid (SA2), coupled to ovalbumin (OVA), on an indirect ELISA format. The immunizing hapten has been designed to address selectivity against the common aminobenzenesulfonylamino moieties, using theoretical calculations and molecular modeling tools.

Immunochemical assays for direct sulfonamide antibiotic detection in milk and hair samples using antibody derivatized magnetic nanoparticles.

Two direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed for detection of sulfonamide antibiotic residues in milk samples. One of them is using magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for target capture/enrichment (Ab-MNP-ELISA), and the second is performed using microtiter plates. Selective polyclonal antibodies, raised against 5-[6-(4-amino-benzenesulfonylamino)-pyridin-3-yl]-2-methyl-pentanoic acid (SA1), used in combination with an enzyme tracer prepared with the same hapten, has allowed us to reach a limit of detection (LOD) lower than 0.