Vaccination Strategies for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The WHO-Ebola Modeling Collaboration.

Objectives: Assess the effectiveness of ring vaccination in controlling an Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Methods: This analysis focuses on two areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni and Butembo/Katwa, which were affected during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak. To simulate Ebola virus transmission, we used a spatially explicit agent-based model with households, health care facilities, and Ebola treatment units.

Noninvertible Symmetries from Holography and Branes.

We propose a systematic approach to deriving symmetry generators of quantum field theories in holography. Central to this analysis are the Gauss law constraints in the Hamiltonian quantization of symmetry topological field theories (SymTFTs), which are obtained from supergravity. In turn, we realize the symmetry generators from world-volume theories of D-branes in holography.

Holographic Duals of Argyres-Douglas Theories.

We propose the first explicit holographic duals for a class of superconformal field theories of Argyres-Douglas type, which are inherently strongly coupled and provide a window onto remarkable nonperturbative phenomena (such as mutually nonlocal massless dyons and relevant operators of fractional dimension). The theories under examination are realized by a stack of M5-branes wrapped on a sphere with one irregular puncture and one regular puncture. In the dual 11d supergravity solutions, the irregular puncture is realized as an internal M5-brane source.

Topological Stars and Black Holes.

We study smooth bubble spacetimes in five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory that resemble four-dimensional magnetic black holes upon Kaluza-Klein reduction. We denote them as topological stars since they have topological cycles supported by magnetic flux. They can be macroscopically large compared to the size of the Kaluza-Klein circle and could describe qualitative properties of microstate geometries for astrophysical black holes.

Combined Epidemiologic and Entomologic Survey to Detect Urban Malaria Transmission, Guinea, 2018.

Malaria incidence is generally lower in cities than rural areas. However, reported urban malaria incidence may not accurately reflect the level of ongoing transmission, which has potentially large implications for prevention efforts. To guide mosquito net distribution, we assessed the extent of malaria transmission in Conakry, Guinea, in 2018.

Tensile mechanical changes in the Achilles tendon due to Insertional Achilles tendinopathy.

Insertional Achilles tendinopathy (IAT) is a painful condition that is challenging to treat non-operatively. Although previous studies have characterized the gross histological features, in vivo strain patterns and transverse compressive mechanical properties of tissue affected by IAT, it is not known how IAT impacts the tensile mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon insertion along the axial/longitudinal direction (i.e.

[Sexual intercourse among students in Matoto, Conakry, Guinea].

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors associated with sexual practices among adolescent students in Matoto, Conakry.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study of students aged 10-19 years attending colleges and high schools in Matoto, Conakry over a period of 3 months (1 March -31 May 2018).

Results: Out of 500 students surveyed, 226 (162 girls and 64 boys; 45.

Maternal mortality risk indicators: Case-control study at a referral hospital in Guinea.

Objective: This study aimed to describe intrapartum and postpartum exposures possibly associated with the risk of in-hospital maternal mortality in Guinea.

Study Design: Data were collected in the Western Sub-Saharan Africa setting at the university hospital in Conakry, Guinea, during 2016-2017. Case-control study design was applied.

New filovirus disease classification and nomenclature.

The recent large outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Western Africa resulted in greatly increased accumulation of human genotypic, phenotypic and clinical data, and improved our understanding of the spectrum of clinical manifestations. As a result, the WHO disease classification of EVD underwent major revision.

[Multifocal tuberculosis associated with cerebral toxoplasmosis in an African immigrant immunocompromised patient due to HIV-infection at the Hospital Centre in Soissons, France].

In the industrialized countries and, in particular, in France, given the means of prevention, early screening and treatment of HIV infection, there is almost no evidence of opportunistic infections among immigrants and in some disadvantaged socio-professional groups. We here report the case of a 42-year old African immigrant HIV1 positive man with impaired general condition hospitalized for infectious syndrome. He had received antiretroviral therapy for 2 years and stopped it four months before admission.

Prescriber practices and patient adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Guinea, 2016.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) to treat uncomplicated malaria for the control of malaria across the world. There are several types of ACT used across malaria-endemic countries, yet there is little information about preferences and adherence practices regarding different types of ACT. The objective of this study was to evaluate levels of adherence to two types of ACT, artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate + amodiaquine (ASAQ), for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria among prescribers and patients in Guinea in 2016.

Rapid Epidemiological and Entomological Survey for Validation of Reported Indicators and Characterization of Local Malaria Transmission in Guinea, 2017.

To confirm and investigate possible explanations for unusual trends in malaria indicators, a protocol for rapid, focal assessment of malaria transmission and control interventions was piloted in N'Zérékoré and Macenta Prefectures, which each reported surprisingly low incidence of malaria during the peak transmission months during 2017 in holoendemic Forested Guinea. In each prefecture, epidemiological and entomological cross-sectional surveys were conducted in two sub-prefectures reporting high incidence and one sub-prefecture reporting low incidence. Investigators visited six health facilities and 356 households, tested 476 children, performed 14 larval breeding site transects, and conducted 12 nights of human landing catches during the 2-week investigation.

Aging does not alter tendon mechanical properties during homeostasis, but does impair flexor tendon healing.

Aging is an important factor in disrupted homeostasis of many tissues. While an increased incidence of tendinopathy and tendon rupture are observed with aging, it is unclear whether this is due to progressive changes in tendon cell function and mechanics over time, or an impaired repair reaction from aged tendons in response to insult or injury. In the present study, we examined changes in the mechanical properties of Flexor Digitorum Longus (FDL), Flexor Carpi Ulnaris (FCU), and tail fascicles in both male and female C57Bl/6 mice between 3 and 27 months of age to better understand the effects of sex and age on tendon homeostasis.

Mechanical changes in the Achilles tendon due to insertional Achilles tendinopathy.

Insertional Achilles tendinopathy (IAT) is a painful and debilitating condition that responds poorly to non-surgical interventions. It is thought that this disease may originate from compression of the Achilles tendon due to calcaneal impingement. Thus, compressive mechanical changes associated with IAT may elucidate its etiology and offer clues to guide effective treatment.

Effect of the Ebola-virus-disease epidemic on malaria case management in Guinea, 2014: a cross-sectional survey of health facilities.

Background: The ongoing west Africa Ebola-virus-disease epidemic has disrupted the entire health-care system in affected countries. Because of the overlap of symptoms of Ebola virus disease and malaria, the care delivery of malaria is particularly sensitive to the indirect effects of the current Ebola-virus-disease epidemic. We therefore characterise malaria case management in the context of the Ebola-virus-disease epidemic and document the effect of the Ebola-virus-disease epidemic on malaria case management.