KCL TEST: an open-source inspired asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 surveillance programme in an academic institution.

Rapid and accessible testing was paramount in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our university established KCL TEST: a SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic testing programme that enabled sensitive and accessible PCR testing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva. Here, we describe our learnings and provide our blueprint for launching diagnostic laboratories, particularly in low-resource settings.

Investigating the effect of a school-based WASH intervention on soil-transmitted helminth and schistosome infections and nutritional status of school children in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: The impact of access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health education on large-scale deworming programs aimed at controlling soil-transmitted helminth (STH) and schistosome (SCH) infections has not been well studied. We assessed the additional impact of improved WASH infrastructure and health education at schools on STH and SCH infections in Ethiopia.

Methods: The study used a quasi-experimental design under which 30 schools were assigned to either an intervention (15 schools) or control (15 schools) arm.

National mapping of soil-transmitted helminth and schistosome infections in Ethiopia.

Background: An accurate understanding of the geographical distributions of both soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and the hookworms Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) and schistosomes (SCH; Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium) is pivotal to be able to effectively design and implement mass drug administration (MDA) programmes. The objective of this study was to provide up-to-date data on the distribution of both STH and SCH in Ethiopia to inform the design of the national control program and to be able to efficiently achieve the 75% MDA coverage target set by the WHO.

Pooling as a strategy for the timely diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths in stool: value and reproducibility.

Background: The strategy of pooling stool specimens has been extensively used in the field of parasitology in order to facilitate the screening of large numbers of samples whilst minimizing the prohibitive cost of single sample analysis. The aim of this study was to develop a standardized reproducible pooling protocol for stool samples, validated between two different laboratories, without jeopardizing the sensitivity of the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays employed for the detection of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Two distinct experimental phases were recruited.

Integrated delivery of school health interventions through the school platform: Investing for the future.

School health and nutrition (SHN) programmes are recognized as a significant contributor to both health and education sector goals. The school system offers an ideal platform from which to deliver basic health interventions that target the most common health conditions affecting school-age children (SAC) in low-income countries, leading to improved participation and learning outcomes. However, governments require evidence to cost, design, and implement these programmes.

Assessing the feasibility of interrupting the transmission of soil-transmitted helminths through mass drug administration: The DeWorm3 cluster randomized trial protocol.

Unlabelled: Current control strategies for soil-transmitted helminths (STH) emphasize morbidity control through mass drug administration (MDA) targeting preschool- and school-age children, women of childbearing age and adults in certain high-risk occupations such as agricultural laborers or miners. This strategy is effective at reducing morbidity in those treated but, without massive economic development, it is unlikely it will interrupt transmission. MDA will therefore need to continue indefinitely to maintain benefit.

Sanitation, hookworm, anemia, stunting, and wasting in primary school children in southern Ethiopia: Baseline results from a study in 30 schools.

Background: Inadequate nutrition; neglected topical diseases; and insufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are interrelated problems in schools in low-income countries, but are not routinely tackled together. A recent three-year longitudinal study investigated integrated school health and nutrition approaches in 30 government primary schools in southern Ethiopia. Here, we report on baseline associations between sanitation, hookworm infection, anemia, stunting, and wasting.

Graduate nurse experiences of support: A review.

Unlabelled: The first year of practice as a nurse is recognized as stressful. Graduate nurses (GNs) report gaps in their education, reality shock, burnout and other negative experiences that influence their intentions to remain in nursing.

Objectives: The aim of this literature review was to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of GNs.

School Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Soil-Transmitted Helminths, and Schistosomes: National Mapping in Ethiopia.

Background: It is thought that improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) might reduce the transmission of schistosomes and soil-transmitted helminths, owing to their life cycles. However, few large-scale studies have yet assessed the real extent of associations between WASH and these parasites.

Methodology/principal Findings: In the 2013-2014 Ethiopian national mapping of infections with these parasites, school WASH was assessed alongside infection intensity in children, mostly between 10 and 15 years of age.

Development of a novel breast MRI phantom for quality control.

Objective: Many indications for breast MRI exist. MRI screening can identify preinvasive breast cancer in women at high risk and in that regard is superior to mammography and ultrasound. Quality control standards exist for mammography and breast ultra-sound screening with phantoms designed specifically for this purpose.

Early surgical therapy for drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy: a randomized trial.

Context: Despite reported success, surgery for pharmacoresistant seizures is often seen as a last resort. Patients are typically referred for surgery after 20 years of seizures, often too late to avoid significant disability and premature death.

Objective: We sought to determine whether surgery soon after failure of 2 antiepileptic drug (AED) trials is superior to continued medical management in controlling seizures and improving quality of life (QOL).

Group patient visits for Parkinson disease: a randomized feasibility trial.

Background: Group patient visits are medical appointments shared among patients with a common medical condition. This care delivery method has demonstrated benefits for individuals with chronic conditions but has not been evaluated for Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: We conducted a 12-month, randomized trial of group patient visits vs usual (one-on-one) care for patients with PD.

A U.S. survey of patients with Parkinson's disease: satisfaction with medical care and support groups.

Relatively little is known about patient satisfaction with Parkinson's disease (PD) care and the use of support groups in the United States. We surveyed members of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Disease Registry to assess satisfaction with medical care and to evaluate support group use. Satisfaction was measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with high satisfaction defined as a four or five.

Design considerations for a multicenter randomized controlled trial of early surgery for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Purpose: To describe the trial design for the multicenter Early Randomized Surgical Epilepsy Trial (ERSET). Patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy are generally referred for surgical treatment an average of two decades after onset of seizures, often too late to avoid irreversible disability. ERSET was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of early surgical intervention compared to continued pharmacotherapy.

Managing antituberculosis drug therapy by therapeutic drug monitoring of rifampicin and isoniazid.

Background: Current therapeutic regimens with rifampicin and isoniazid have proven successful in treating tuberculosis, however, toxicity, therapeutic failure, relapse and multiple drug resistance are serious concerns. Optimizing drug dose using therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may be a better approach than administering therapy as a standard dose.

Aims: To establish and evaluate a TDM service to optimize rifampicin and isoniazid therapy.

Burow's solution in the treatment of active mucosal chronic suppurative otitis media: determining an effective dilution.

Burow's solution (13 per cent aluminium acetate) has been found to inhibit in vitro the growth of most commonly occurring bacteria found in the discharging ear. An in vitro study has shown that the minimum inhibitory concentration of Burow's solution for these organisms lies between a 1:80 and a 1:160 dilution. This paper reports on a clinical trial that incorporated 67 discharging ears to establish the most effective strength of aluminium acetate solution.

A study of adaptive responses in cell signaling in migraine and cluster headache: correlations between headache type and changes in gene expression.

The project was an investigation into whether changes in the expression of G-proteins underlie altered cell signaling in migraine and cluster headache. The basis for this assumption is that altered physiological responses are seen in migraineurs and that differences in cell signaling are detected biochemically in various cell types isolated from peripheral blood. Levels of three G-protein mRNAs--Gs alpha, Gi alpha, and Gq alpha, were quantified in lymphocytes from clinically well-defined migraine and cluster headache patients and correlated with headache type and influence of drug treatment.

Clinical and functional investigation of 10 missense mutations and a novel frameshift insertion mutation of the gene for copper-zinc superoxide dismutase in UK families with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Mutations of the gene SOD-1, which encodes the enzyme copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, occur in patients with a familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We investigated 71 families with more than one individual affected by ALS for clinical features and SOD-1 mutations. Mutations were identified in 14 families, indicating the presence of SOD-1 mutations in around 20% of this population.

Cellular adaptation in migraineurs with chronic daily headache.

Ergotamine and analgesic misuse are now recognized as causes of chronic daily headache and the condition responds well to drug withdrawal with reduced headache frequency. In this study, we have investigated whether medication misuse is associated with an alteration in membrane transduction which is sensitive to drug withdrawal. This was carried out by assay of the thrombin-stimulated generation of inositol phosphates in platelets from 12 migraine patients with chronic daily headache and analgesic misuse, 7 migraine patients with chronic daily headache and ergotamine misuse and 7 control subjects.

Excitotoxin induction of ornithine decarboxylase in cerebral cortex is reduced by phospholipase A2 inhibition.

The enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) has been shown to be induced by a number of conditions such as cold-injury, kindling, ischaemia and excitotoxin injection. In previous studies we have characterised the cortical response to kainate injection into the nucleus basalis and shown a substantial increase in both ODC mRNA and enzyme activity which reaches a maximum at 8h. This response is completely prevented by treatment with MK-801, indicating the involvement of NMDA receptors in mediating this response.

Reversal of neurotoxin-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity in rat cerebral cortex by nimodipine. A potential neuroprotective mechanism.

An increase in the activity of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase has been shown to be associated with ischemia and other lesions of the nervous system. We have previously characterized the induction of ornithine decarboxylase in cerebral cortex following excitotoxin lesion of the nucleus basalis and have shown it to be sensitive to treatment with MK-801 up to 4 hours after the lesion and to be associated with an early increase in ornithine decarboxylase mRNA. In this study, we have used this model to investigate the effect of dihydropyridines on this response to lesion.