TMS-induced phase resets depend on TMS intensity and EEG phase.

. The phase of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal predicts performance in motor, somatosensory, and cognitive functions. Studies suggest that brain phase resets align neural oscillations with external stimuli, or couple oscillations across frequency bands and brain regions.

Persistent hypertension among postpartum women with comorbid HIV and preeclampsia in Zambia.

Background: Persistent hypertension is common after preeclampsia and is causally tied to later cardiovascular risks. This study examined whether being HIV-infected and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with persistent postpartum hypertension among women diagnosed with preeclampsia.

Methods: We conducted a six-month prospective cohort study at Kanyama and Women and Newborn hospitals from January 01, 2022, to June 30, 2023, among 190 women diagnosed with preeclampsia (59 HIV-positive, 131 HIV-negative).

Violence Victimization and Depressive Symptoms Among a Sub-Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority Adults in a Population-Based South African Study.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults in South Africa face high levels of violence and poor mental health outcomes. Interventions to prevent these negative health implications are hampered by a lack of representative data among this population. This study aims to quantify the associations between three forms of violent victimization and depressive symptoms in a sub-sample of SGM drawn from a population-based cross-sectional study in Gauteng, South Africa.

Male perspectives on intimate partner violence: A qualitative analysis from South Africa.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects one in four women globally and is more commonly enacted by men than women. Rates of IPV in South Africa exceed the global average. Exploring the background and context regarding why men use violence can help future efforts to prevent IPV.

Providers' experiences collaborating with child welfare workers: The good, the bad, and the impacts.

Background: Successful interprofessional collaborations have been identified as a potential solution to mitigate problems associated with negative outcomes for clients involved with the child welfare system. The barriers to collaborative relationships need to be better understood and effectively addressed.

Objective: To understand the characteristics, barriers, and facilitators of collaborations between different types of providers and child welfare workers, as well as their impacts.

Prevalence of persistent hypertension following pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can lead to persistent hypertension (pHTN) in the months and even years following delivery. However, its prevalence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not well characterized.

Objective: To synthesize available evidence on the pHTN prevalence following a pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in LMICs.

Pathways to transactional sex among peri-urban South African women: the role of relationship control, food insecurity and alcohol misuse.

Transactional sex increases sub-Saharan African women's risk of HIV acquisition. We quantitatively explored the pathways contributing towards women's future engagement in transactional sex with casual partners and khwapheni (secret concurrent sex partners). We conducted secondary data analysis from a cluster randomised controlled trial in urban informal settlements in eThekwini Municipality.

Effects of digital chatbot on gender attitudes and exposure to intimate partner violence among young women in South Africa.

Background: South Africa has among the highest rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) globally, with young women at heightened risk due to inequitable gender roles, limited relationship skills, and inadequate social support. Despite an urgent need for violence prevention in low- and middle-income settings, most efficacious approaches are time-intensive and costly to deliver. Digital, interactive chatbots may help young women navigate safer relationships and develop healthier gender beliefs and skills.

Food Insecurity and Intimate Partner Violence in Mwanza, Tanzania: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Introduction: Food insecurity is a potential predictor of intimate partner violence. This study (1) describes the prevalence of food insecurity and various forms of intimate partner violence experience among women in Mwanza, Tanzania; and (2) assesses the effect of food insecurity and hunger on various forms of women's experience of intimate partner violence longitudinally.

Methods: Women (aged 18-70 years) who reported being in a relationship in the past 12 months, who had participated in the control arms of two randomized controlled trials conducted as part of the MAISHA study were interviewed at four time points (N=1,004 at baseline in 2017).

Sexual violence and antiretroviral adherence among women of reproductive age in African population-based surveys: the moderating role of the perinatal phase.

Introduction: Women face challenges in antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and achieving viral suppression despite progress in the expansion of HIV treatment. Evidence suggests that violence against women (VAW) is an important determinant of poor ART adherence in women living with HIV (WLH). In our study, we examine the association of sexual VAW and ART adherence among WLH and assess whether this association varies by whether women are pregnant/breastfeeding or not.

Depressive symptoms and violence exposure in a population-based sample of adult women in South Africa.

Depressive symptoms are a major burden of disease globally and is associated with violence and poverty. However, much of the research linking these conditions is from resource-rich settings and among smaller, clinical samples. Secondary data from a household survey in Gauteng Province of South Africa examines the cross-sectional association between adult women's elevated depressive symptoms and markers of violence.

Systematic review of food insecurity and violence against women and girls: Mixed methods findings from low- and middle-income settings.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a global human rights and public health concern. Food insecurity is a sign of severe poverty, and likely to heighten women's vulnerability to VAWG and men's perpetration of it. However, the extent of the association and the multiple pathways between food insecurity and VAWG are not well understood.

Cost of Home-Based Couples Human Immunodeficiency Virus Counseling and Testing and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Self-Testing During Pregnancy and Postpartum in Southwestern Kenya.

Objective: Home-based couples HIV testing and counseling and HIV self-testing (HIVST) for pregnant women can promote HIV status disclosure and male partner testing; however, cost data are lacking. We examined a home-based couples intervention (HBCI) and HIVST intervention costs per couple (unit cost) during pregnancy and postpartum in Kenya.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial is comparing HBCI and HIVST for couples among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in two counties in southwestern Kenya.

Intimate partner violence and HIV treatment adherence in urban South Africa: Mediating role of perinatal common mental disorders.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has potential to eliminate perinatal HIV infections, but adherence to ART in late pregnancy and postpartum is often suboptimal. Intimate partner violence (IPV) may influence non-adherence among perinatal women living with HIV (WWH), but few quantitative studies have examined this over time or explored mechanisms for this association.

Methods: We used secondary data from a parent trial in Johannesburg comprising WWH from the control arm (63) and WWH ineligible for the trial (133).

Perceived impacts of a pilot agricultural livelihood and microfinance intervention on agricultural practices, food security and nutrition for Kenyans living with HIV.

Introduction: Agriculture is the primary source of income and household food for >75% of rural Kenyans, including people living with HIV (PLHIV), making agricultural yields an important factor in food security and nutrition. Previous studies have shown the interconnectedness of food insecurity, malnutrition, and poor HIV health by elucidating that having one of these conditions increases the likelihood and severity of having another. However, few studies have explored the linkages between agricultural practices, food security and nutrition for PLHIV, or how agricultural livelihood interventions may affect these domains.

Vascular surgery is the most commonly consulted specialty for emergent operative trauma.

Objective: Despite an increasing rate of intraoperative consultation of vascular surgery (VS) for trauma patients, VS is not one of the subspecialties required for American College of Surgeons level I trauma center verification. We sought to assess the rates and patterns of emergent operative VS consultation compared with other surgical subspecialties in the trauma setting.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on all patients who presented with traumatic injuries requiring emergent surgical operations (<3 hours after presentation) from 2015 to 2019 at a level I trauma center.

The Impact of Land Tenure Security on a Livelihood Intervention for People Living with HIV in Western Kenya.

Few studies have explored land access, a structural driver of health, and women's participation in livelihood interventions to improve food security and HIV outcomes. This qualitative study, embedded within Shamba Maisha (NCT02815579)-a randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the impact of a multisectoral intervention among farmers living with HIV in western Kenya-sought to explore the influence of perceived access to and control of land on agricultural productivity, investments, and benefits. Thirty in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with purposively sampled men and women, 3 to 6 months after receiving intervention inputs; data were deductively and inductively coded and analyzed.

A quality improvement apprenticeship: Gross anatomy in the time of Covid-19.

The study of anatomy is a team-driven field in which anatomy instruction occurs in small groups in the laboratory with one faculty member guiding students through each anatomical region. One laboratory experience may include several small group instructors in one simultaneous learning session. In comparison, the education of future gross anatomists often happens in an apprenticeship model, where the optimal learning outcomes are met through training with an experienced mentor.

Food insecurity and men's perpetration of partner violence in a longitudinal cohort in South Africa.

Background: Although food insecurity has been associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), few studies examine it longitudinally or among male perpetrators.

Methods: We used secondary data from a trial that followed 2479 men in a peri-urban settlement in South Africa (February 2016-August 2018). Men self-completed questionnaires at baseline (T0), 12 months (T1) and 24 months (T2) on food security, household type, relationship status, childhood abuse exposure, alcohol use, and perpetration of physical and/or sexual IPV.