Rabies incidence and burden in three cities of Cameroon (2004-2013).

Rabies is a fatal disease occurring worldwide and especially in almost all the countries in Asia and Africa including Cameroon. Though animal and human rabies is prevalent in Cameroon, the epidemiology and socio-economic burden of the disease in the country is not known. Therefore, a 10-year (October 2004-April 2013) retrospective study on the incidence of animal and human rabies and its burden in Garoua, Ngaoundéré and Yaoundé in Cameroon was carried out.

Robustness of Optimal Circadian Rhythm Entrainment under Model Perturbation.

The optimal circadian rhythm entrainment problem has been studied based on mathematical models, e.g. the Kronauer model.

Efficient Estimation of the Human Circadian Phase via Kalman Filtering.

Circadian rhythms play a vital role in maintaining a person's well-being but remain difficult to quantify accurately. Numerous approaches exist to measure these rhythms, but they often suffer from performance issues on the individual level. This work implements a Steady-State Kalman Filter as a method for estimating the circadian phase shifts from biometric signals.

, a new species of Primulaceae (Myrsinoideae) from Peninsular Malaysia.

, a new species of Primulaceae from Peninsular Malaysia, is described and illustrated. The new species is assignable into subgenus (§) on account of specialised lateral reproductive branches bearing a terminal inflorescence subtended by foliose bracts. Morphologically, the new species mostly resembles in having elliptic leaves.

Interaction of Substrates with γ-Secretase at the Level of Individual Transmembrane Helices-A Methodological Approach.

Intramembrane proteases, such as γ secretase, typically recruit multiple substrates from an excess of single-span membrane proteins. It is currently unclear to which extent substrate recognition depends on specific interactions of their transmembrane domains (TMDs) with TMDs of a protease. Here, we investigated a large number of potential pairwise interactions between TMDs of γ secretase and a diverse set of its substrates using two different configurations of BLaTM, a genetic reporter system.

 (Primulaceae-Myrsinoideae), a new species from northern Peninsular Malaysia.

Recent fieldwork in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, resulted in the collection of an endemic new species of , described here as Julius, Siti-Munirah & Utteridge. The species is a member of subgenus (§) on account of its vascularised glands (bacterial nodules) on the leaf margin and the terminal inflorescence on a specialised lateral branch subtended by a normal leaf (rather than a reduced bract-like leaf). is unique amongst all members of § by having leaf margins with both vascularised glands and pustule-like structures and can be further distinguished from other Peninsular Malaysian members of this subgenus by the lamina raised between the leaf venation giving a somewhat bullate appearance, unbranched inflorescences, brownish-red pedicels and recurved corolla lobes, each with a creamy-white apex and a small pink patch at the base.

Lyophilized human platelet lysate as a supplementation in the culture of umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being used in clinical trials given their proliferative potential, immunomodulatory effects, and their pro-angiogenic, anti-apoptotic, and anti-fibrotic properties. Umbilical cord tissue is an excellent source of MSCs. Iron-fortified calf serum is being used to culture MSCs as an alternative to fetal bovine serum since it is relatively inexpensive.

Determining Factors and Zootechnical Output of Biosecurity Practices in Fish Farms in the Wouri Division, Cameroon.

Biosecurity practice limits the occurrence of diseases and economic losses in fish farms. The objective of this study was to characterize fish farming in the Administrative Division of Wouri, Cameroon (3°97'04″-3°58'13″N; 9°76'78″-9°46'4.3″E) and assess the biosecurity practices.

Accelerated institutionalization of an adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) intervention in Tanzania: Findings from a mixed-methods evaluation.

Introduction: From 2018 to 2020, Adolescents 360 (A360), aiming to increase demand for and voluntary uptake of modern contraception among adolescent girls 15-19 years, designed and scaled an intervention in Tanzania (Kuwa Mjanja) to 13 regions through project-funded expansion. In 2020, the project began to develop a strategy for its follow-on phase, focusing on program sustainability. In this process, funder priorities led to a decision to exit A360's programming in Tanzania over a 15-month exit period.

Using a Nominal Group Technique to Develop a Science Communication Curriculum for Health Professionals and Clinical Researchers.

Effective science communication is fundamental to closing the gap from research and innovation to clinical implementation. Existing paradigms of science communication are often challenged by a lack of skill and engagement, particularly from those who progress the science. Currently, a standardized curriculum on science communication, with global applicability, does not exist.

 (Primulaceae-Myrsinoideae), a new species from north east of Peninsular Malaysia.

Julius & Utteridge, (Primulaceae-Myrsinoideae), a member of ArdisiasubgenusStylardisia on account of the style protruding from the closed petals prior to anthesis, is herein described and illustrated as a new species. This new species is easily distinguished by the combination of the inflorescences with a slender rachis branched to two orders, the corolla lobes are abaxially glabrous with usually up to only two gland-dots near the apex and the brochidrodromous secondary veins with double loops near the margin.

Diverse nanocomposites as a potential dressing for diabetic wound healing.

Wound healing is a programmed process of continuous events which is impaired in the case of diabetic patients. This impaired process of healing in diabetics leads to amputation, longer hospitalisation, immobilisation, low self-esteem, and mortality in some patients. This problem has paved the way for several innovative strategies like the use of nanotechnology for the treatment of wounds in diabetic patients.

Exploring Brachytherapy Discharge Educational Needs of Gynecological Cancer Patients.

Brachytherapy (BT) plays a fundamental role in the treatment of gynecological cancers. Patient education for vaginal self-management and dilator use post-BT involves an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and there is a paucity of post-BT education guidelines. Our objective was to determine the educational needs of gynecological cancer patients surrounding vaginal self-management post-BT and to determine enablers and barriers to the provision of education by HCPs.

Health care professional's perceived stress levels and novel brief COPE-4 factor structure-based assessment of coping methods during COVID-19 pandemic in India: A multi-modal cross-sectional study.

Background: SARS-CoV-19 or popularly known as COVID-19 is recognized as a global public health emergency and a pandemic necessitating readiness of the health system and its operational work force to address the unprecedent challenge.

Objective: To assess perceived stress and coping methods using novel brief COPE-4 factor structure and narrate thematic testimonials among health care professionals involved in COVID care in India.

Settings And Designs: Health care settings and multi-state cross-sectional study.

Serum lactate dehydrogenase in the prognostic assessment of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) has been proven to be a diagnostic marker in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the prognostic value of serum LDH in OSCC is yet to be explored. The purpose of this study is to correlate the level of serum LDH with the degree of OSCC and to evaluate the role of serum LDH as a prognostic marker in OSCC.

Guiding the Clinical Nurse Specialist role in oncology within Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

In 2019, the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) published the Advanced Practice Nursing: A Pan-Canadian Framework, defining and highlighting the competencies of the clinical nurse specialist role (CNS). In response to the CNA publication, the CNS Community of Practice (CoP) at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) reviewed how the oncology CNS roles at PM aligned with the CNA competencies. The primary goal was to utilize the CNA (2019) document to guide the development of a PM CNS role-clarity document and new-hire CNS pathway to assist the onboarding process for new CNS hires at PM.

Inhibition of Aldose Reductase by Novel Phytocompounds: A Heuristic Approach to Treating Diabetic Retinopathy.

Aldose reductase (ALR2) activation in the polyol pathway has been implicated as the primary mechanism for the progression of diabetic retinopathy. Most of the aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs), used for the treatment of diabetic complications, were withdrawn due to ineffective treatment and adverse side effects caused by nonspecificity. Epalrestat, a carboxylic acid inhibitor, is the only ARI used for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, though associated with minor side effects to 8% of the treated population.

 (Capparaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia, including a new species and two new varieties.

As part of the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Project, a species checklist of the genus in Peninsular Malaysia is presented here with a total of 11 species, two subspecies and four varieties. A new species and two varieties, endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, are described and illustrated: , C.scortechiniivar.

Effect of six months pranayama training on stress-induced salivary cortisol response among adolescents-Randomized controlled study.

Background: A combination of yoga practices has been documented to reduce stress and stress-induced cortisol levels. The objective of the current study is to examine the effects of six months of a single pranayama practice (Bhramari [Bhr. P]) on reducing salivary cortisol response to the cold pressor test (CPT) among adolescents.

Optimization of light exposure and sleep schedule for circadian rhythm entrainment.

The circadian rhythm, called Process C, regulates a wide range of biological processes in humans including sleep, metabolism, body temperature, and hormone secretion. Light is the dominant synchronizer of the circadian rhythm-it has been used to regulate the circadian phase to cope with jet-lag, shift work, and sleep disorder. The homeostatic oscillation of the sleep drive is called Process S.

Impact of PD-1 gene polymorphism and its interaction with tea drinking on susceptibility to tuberculosis.

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of polymorphism of PD-1 gene and its interaction with tea drinking on susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB). A total of 503 patients with TB and 494 controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms of PD-1 (rs7568402, rs2227982 and rs36084323) were genotyped and unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between PD-1 polymorphism and TB, while marginal structural linear odds models were used to estimate the interactions.

Actigraphy-based parameter tuning process for adaptive notch filter and circadian phase shift estimation.

We report herein the application of an adaptive notch filter (ANF) algorithm to minute-by-minute actigraphy data to estimate the continuous circadian phase of eight healthy adults. As the adaptation rates and damping factor of the ANF algorithm have large impacts on the ANF states and circadian phase estimation results, we propose a method for optimizing these parameters. The ANF with optimal parameters is further used to estimate the circadian phase shift from the actigraphy data.

Two new species of subgenus (Primulaceae-Myrsinoideae) from Borneo.

and from subgenus Tetrardisia are herein described and illustrated as new species. They are endemic to Borneo and the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan and to the Malaysian state of Sarawak, respectively. is unique in its linear-oblong leaves, with a long, acuminate-caudate apex, and finely serrulate margins, while can be easily recognized by its elliptic-lanceolate leaves.

Redesigning and implementing a Canadian oncology nursing curriculum for an international partnership.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disability globally. As a result, there is a need to provide specialized nursing care to the increasing number of complex oncology patients. Numerous healthcare centres do not have specialized oncology nursing education programs, creating an environment where oncology patients may be cared for by generalist nurses.