Quality improvement in medicines regulation: a retrospective analysis of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone before and during quality management system implementation.

Background: National Medicines Regulatory Authorities like the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone are responsible for protecting and promoting public health, implementing regulatory standards, and maintaining a supply chain with an assured supply of medical products that are safe, effective, and of good quality. This retrospective study assesses the identification of substandard and falsified medicines, the changes in the functions and key indicators of assessment, and the quality improvement changes of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone.

Methods: Data was obtained from 2013 to 2021 records using a data collection tool to collate and review all relevant information to address the different objectives.

suppresses the symptoms produced by by inhibiting its replication and manipulating chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis and degradation in banana.

Unlabelled: (BBrMV) infection results in characteristic reddish streaks on pseudostem and chlorotic spindle lesions on leaves leading to traveler's palm appearance and complete crop loss depending on the stage of infection in banana plants. Here, we discuss the influence of colonization (a beneficial fungal root endophyte) on BBrMV infection, specific viral component genes responsible for symptom development, chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis, and degradation in BBrMV-infected banana plants. colonization significantly and substantially reduced the severity of Banana bract mosaic disease (BBrMD) in addition to increased growth, development and yield of banana plants.

Arabidopsis mutants exhibit narrow root angles.

Peach ( ) trees with a mutation in the gene exhibit a weeping branch phenotype. In contrast, Arabidopsis ( ) mutants do not have a shoot architecture phenotype. A recent report revealed that barley ( ) and wheat ( ) with mutations in EGT2, a homolog, have steeper root angles than standard varieties.

Regulating clinical trials in a resource-limited setting during the Ebola public health emergency in Sierra Leone.

Clinical trials during public health emergencies of novel medical products such as therapeutics and vaccines in resource-limited settings are daunting due to the limited capacity for regulatory assessment. Regulating clinical trials during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone required expedited evaluation to identify medical products that could be promptly introduced to combat the epidemic in the absence of approved treatment or prevention. This article explored the decisions taken by the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone through its Expert Committee on Medicine Safety and Clinical Trials regarding clinical trials oversight during the Ebola epidemic and the lessons learned.

Neurodiversity and Autism Intervention: Reconciling Perspectives Through a Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention Framework.

Proponents of autism intervention and those of the neurodiversity movement often appear at odds, the former advocating for intensive treatments and the latter arguing that autism must be accepted as a form of diversity. The history of behavioral intervention has understandably outraged many in the Autistic community, though many still value supports focused on quality of life. This commentary argues that Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) hold promise for bridging the gap between early intervention and the neurodiversity movement.

National Antibiotic Consumption for Human Use in Sierra Leone (2017-2019): A Cross-Sectional Study.

Monitoring antibiotic consumption is crucial to tackling antimicrobial resistance. However, currently there is no system in Sierra Leone for recording and reporting on antibiotic consumption. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study to assess national antibiotic consumption expressed as defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day using all registered and imported antibiotics (categorized under the subgroup J01 under the anatomical and therapeutic classification (ATC) system) as a proxy.

Overcoming adversity: a grounded theory of health management among middle-aged and older gay men.

This article presents findings from a grounded theory study in which we explored how self-identifying gay men between 40 and 76 years of age manage their health in the context of homophobia, heteronormativity and discrimination. Data were collected with 25 men over a 6-month period in a large urban setting in Western Canada. A preliminary theory of health management is discussed, consisting of the central phenomenon of overcoming adversity.

Phage Resistance in Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258 Evolves via Diverse Mutations That Culminate in Impaired Adsorption.

The evolution of phage resistance poses an inevitable threat to the efficacy of phage therapy. The strategic selection of phage combinations that impose high genetic barriers to resistance and/or high compensatory fitness costs may mitigate this threat. However, for such a strategy to be effective, the evolution of phage resistance must be sufficiently constrained to be consistent.

A qualitative investigation of mental health promotion among aging gay men.

Gay men, particularly middle aged and older men (over 40 years of age) experience a disproportionate burden of mental health issues compared to heterosexual men. Despite ample evidence that chronic exposure to structural and interpersonal discrimination negatively affect their mental health, little is known from gay men's perspectives how they understand mental health or their strategies to address their mental health concerns. This study's aim was to investigate how middle aged and older gay men experience their mental health and the mitigation strategies used to promote mental health.

Reformulating the Worker Identity: Men's Experiences After Radical Prostatectomy.

The number of men in the Canadian workforce who have prostate cancer is increasing. The purpose of the study was to explore the processes involved in men's return to work post radical prostatectomy and understand how these events are connected to masculinities. Drawing on data collected through individual interviews with 24 participants, constructivist grounded theory method was used to develop the substantive theory of which comprises two processes, and revealed how men overcame side effects at home and evaluated their potential for returning to work.

Relationship Between Types of Social Support, Coping Strategies, and Psychological Distress in Individuals Living With Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Many people with congenital heart disease (CHD) experience psychological distress related to medical complications and psychosocial issues related to the disease. Although studies show that social support and coping strategies are closely associated with psychological distress in people struggling with different chronic health challenges, very little is known about whether the same factors hold true for the psychological distress of people living with CHD.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between types of social support, coping strategies, and psychological distress for individuals living with CHD.

The Beneficial Root-Colonizing Fungus Mortierella hyalina Promotes the Aerial Growth of Arabidopsis and Activates Calcium-Dependent Responses That Restrict Alternaria brassicae-Induced Disease Development in Roots.

The endophytic fungus Mortierella hyalina colonizes the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana and stimulates growth and biomass production of the aerial parts but not of roots. An exudate fraction from the fungus induces rapid and transient cytoplasmic Caelevation in the roots. The Ca response does not require the well-characterized (co)receptors BAK1, CERK1, and FLS2 for pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and the Ca channels GLR-2.

The Connections Between Work, Prostate Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, and the Decision to Undergo Radical Prostatectomy.

Prostate cancer diagnosis can occur at a time when men's work and careers are central to their masculine identity, sense of purpose, and family life. In Canada, an aging male population, along with medical advances, has resulted in increasing numbers of working men being diagnosed with, and treated for, prostate cancer. Little is known about the linkages between men's work and their experiences of prostate cancer.

Induces Systemic Jasmonate Responses in Arabidopsis Which Travel to Neighboring Plants via a Hyphal Network and Activate Abscisic Acid Responses.

Stress information received by a particular local plant tissue is transferred to other tissues and neighboring plants, but how the information travels is not well understood. Application of spores to Arabidopsis leaves or roots stimulates local accumulation of jasmonic acid (JA), the expression of JA-responsive genes, as well as of () and (). Infection information is systemically spread over the entire seedling and propagates radially from infected to non-infected leaves, axially from leaves to roots, and .

Assessing the impacts and outcomes of youth driven mental health promotion: A mixed-methods assessment of the Social Networking Action for Resilience study.

Mental health challenges are the leading health issue facing youth globally. To better respond to this health challenge, experts advocate for a population health approach inclusive of mental health promotion; yet this area remains underdeveloped. Further, while there is growing emphasis on youth-engaged research and intervention design, evidence of the outcomes and impacts are lacking.

Developing Resilience: Gay Men's Response to Systemic Discrimination.

Gay men experience marked health disparities compared to heterosexual men, associated with profound discrimination. Resilience as a concept has received growing attention to increase understanding about how gay men promote and protect their health in the presence of adversity. Missing in this literature are the perspectives and experiences of gay men over 40 years.

"I tend to forget bad things": Immigrant and refugee young men's narratives of distress.

Distress among young immigrant and refugee men has drawn increasing research attention in recent years. Nuanced understandings of distress are needed to inform mental health and public health programming. The purpose of this research was to examine distress from the perspectives of young immigrant and refugee men living in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

"I Love Fruit But I Can't Afford It": Using Participatory Action Research to Develop Community-Based Initiatives to Mitigate Challenges to Chronic Disease Management in an African American Community Living in Public Housing.

As chronic conditions are on the rise in the USA, management initiatives outside of the inpatient setting should be explored to reduce associated cost and access disparities. Chronic conditions disproportionately affect African American public housing residents due to the effects of historical marginalization on the manifestation of economic and social problems exacerbating health disparities and outcomes. Informed by participatory research action tenets, this study focused on identifying the challenges to management of chronic conditions and developing community-envisioned initiatives to address these challenges in a predominantly African American public housing community.

A Poly(A) Ribonuclease Controls the Cellotriose-Based Interaction between and Its Host Arabidopsis.

, an endophytic root-colonizing fungus, efficiently promotes plant growth and induces resistance to abiotic stress and biotic diseases. fungal cell wall extract induces cytoplasmic calcium elevation in host plant roots. Here, we show that cellotriose (CT) is an elicitor-active cell wall moiety released by into the medium.

"Just as Canadian as Anyone Else"? Experiences of Second-Class Citizenship and the Mental Health of Young Immigrant and Refugee Men in Canada.

In recent years, the experiences of immigrant and refugee young men have drawn attention worldwide. Human-induced environmental disasters, local and global conflicts, and increasingly inequitable distributions of wealth have shaped transnational migration patterns. Canada is home to a large immigrant and refugee population, particularly in its urban areas, and supporting the mental health and well-being of these communities is of critical importance.

Promoting Resilience by Improving Children's Sleep: Feasibility Among Families Living in Supportive Housing.

Background: Poverty has been linked to sleep disruption, which is in turn associated with health and behavior problems. Sleep disturbance may be a key mechanism by which poverty affects child development.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, appeal, and promise of a brief sleep-promoting intervention for low-income families with 4- to 8-year-old children in site-based supportive housing.

"It's not my business": Exploring heteronormativity in young people's discourses about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues and their implications for youth health and wellbeing.

In Canada, the issue of creating safe and inclusive school environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students has been in the spotlight. Several researchers and advocates have pointed out the positive effects of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-positive policy frameworks on the health and wellbeing of all young people. In this article, we take a critical approach to analyzing narrative findings from qualitative interviews conducted with youth in three communities in British Columbia, Canada: "the North," Vancouver, and Abbotsford.