Treatment of Seizures in People with Intellectual Disability.

There is a synergistic relationship between epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID), and the approach to managing people with these conditions needs to be holistic. Epilepsy is the main co-morbidity associated with ID, and clinical presentation tends to be complex, associated with higher rates of treatment resistance, multi-morbidity and premature mortality. Despite this relationship, there is limited level 1 evidence to inform treatment choice for this vulnerable population.

Comprehensive genomic analysis reveals molecular heterogeneity in pediatric ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a mature T-cell lymphoma that accounts for 10-15% of childhood lymphomas. Despite the observation that more than 90% of pediatric cases harbor the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement resulting in aberrant ALK kinase expression, there is significant clinical, morphologic, and biological heterogeneity. To gain insights into the genomic aberrations and molecular heterogeneity within ALK-positive ALCL (ALK+ ALCL), we analyzed 46 pediatric ALK+ ALCLs by whole-exome sequencing, RNA sequencing, and DNA methylation profiling.

Obstructive sleep apnea in 12 to 24 months old toddlers referred for sleep study in a tertiary care center.

Purpose: To assess OSA prevalence, comorbidities, and the influence of sleep stages and body positions on respiratory events distribution in toddlers aged 12-24 months.

Methods: A single center retrospective study that included toddlers aged 12-24 months old who underwent overnight PSG. OSA severity was categorized by obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI) as mild (1-4.

An advocacy based cross sectional study of healthcare professionals of factors impacting on medication adherence across nine Sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Adherence to anti-seizure medication (ASM) by people diagnosed with epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa remains low. The factors for low adherence are not well understood. To improve adherence, it is important to understand the perceptions and views of healthcare professionals delivering epilepsy care to this population.

Evidencing the challenges of care delivery for people with intellectual disability and epilepsy in England by using the Step Together toolkit.

Background: People with intellectual disability (PwID) and epilepsy have increased premature and potentially preventable mortality. This is related to a lack of equitable access to appropriate care. The Step Together guidance and toolkit, developed with patient, clinical, charity and commissioning stakeholders, allows evaluation and benchmarking of essential epilepsy service provision for PwID in eight key domains, at a care system level.

A cross-sectional study of healthcare provider perceptions of the management of epilepsy in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Epilepsy prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa is high with a significant treatment gap. In this context, epilepsy presents substantial challenges to effective and safe reproductive and maternal healthcare. To improve this, it is important to understand the views and perceptions of healthcare professionals delivering epilepsy care to this population.

Pharmacokinetics and sedative effects of single-dose oral gabapentin in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

Objective: To assess the pharmacokinetics and sedative effects of a single administration of oral gabapentin in African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) at 2 different dosages.

Methods: Adult cheetahs (n = 16) located at 3 different zoological institutions were prospectively enrolled to receive single doses of gabapentin administered at 2 different dosages (10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg). Venipuncture was performed under behavioral restraint at predetermined time points over a 24-hour period using a sparse sampling model.

How to evaluate a multi-country implementation-focused network: Reflections from the Quality of Care Network (QCN) evaluation.

Learning about how to evaluate implementation-focused networks is important as they become more commonly used. This research evaluated the emergence, legitimacy and effectiveness of a multi-country Quality of Care Network (QCN) aiming to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes. We examined the QCN global level, national and local level interfaces in four case study countries.

Conceptualizations of wellbeing among nonbinary individuals in the Midwestern United States: a photovoice study.

Traditionally, gender has been viewed through an essentialist lens with fixed biology-based traits or polarized gender norms between women and men. As awareness of gender diversity grows, increasingly more people are coming out as nonbinary - or not exclusively a man or woman. Little has been explored regarding experiences unique to nonbinary individuals, particularly beyond a focus on adverse risks and outcomes to understand their wellbeing.

Factors shaping network emergence: A cross-country comparison of quality of care networks in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda.

The Quality-of-Care Network (QCN) was conceptualized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners to facilitate learning on and improve quality of care for maternal and newborn health within and across low and middle-income countries. However, there was significant variance in the speed and extent to which QCN formed in the involved countries. This paper investigates the factors that shaped QCN's differential emergence in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda.

Policy analysis of the Global Financing Facility in Uganda.

Background: In 2015, Uganda joined the Global Financing Facility (GFF), a Global Health Initiative for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH). Similar initiatives have been found to be powerful entities influencing national policy and priorities in Uganda, but few independent studies have assessed the GFF.

Objective: To understand the policy process and contextual factors in Uganda that influenced the content of the GFF policy documents (Investment Case and Project Appraisal).

Global Financing Facility investments for vulnerable populations: content analysis regarding maternal and newborn health and stillbirths in 11 African countries, 2015 to 2019.

Background: The Global Financing Facility (GFF) was launched in 2015 to catalyse increased domestic and external financing for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health, and nutrition. Half of the deaths along this continuum are neonatal deaths, stillbirths or maternal deaths; yet these topics receive the least aid financing across the continuum.

Objectives: To conduct a policy content analysis of maternal and newborn health (MNH), including stillbirths, in GFF country planning documents, and assess the mortality burden related to the investment.

Any better? A follow-up content analysis of adolescent sexual and reproductive health inclusion in Global Financing Facility country planning documents.

Background: The Global Financing Facility (GFF) supports national reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health, and nutrition needs. Previous analysis examined how adolescent sexual and reproductive health was represented in GFF national planning documents for 11 GFF partner countries.

Objectives: This paper furthers that analysis for 16 GFF partner countries as part of a Special Series.

Anti-LGI-1 Limbic Encephalitis and Autoimmune Epilepsy Following a Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccination: A Case Report.

Anti-leucine rich glioma inactivated 1 (LGI-1) autoimmune encephalitis (AE) typically presents with cognitive impairment, faciobrachial dystonic seizures (FBDS) and hyponatraemia. Reports are growing of neurological complications following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Here we describe a 50 year old man who developed anti-LGI-1 limbic encephalitis and autoimmune epilepsy 4 days following a dose of the mRNA Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (of note, his first two vaccinations were viral vector ChAdOX1-S).

Multisensory-inspired modeling and neural correlates for two key binocular interactions.

Most binocular vision models assume that the two eyes sum incompletely. However, some facilitatory cortical neurons fire for only one eye, but amplify their firing rates if both eyes are stimulated. These 'binocular gate' neurons closely resemble subthreshold multisensory neurons.

Comprehensive genomic analysis reveals molecular heterogeneity in pediatric ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a mature T-cell lymphoma that accounts for for 10-15% of childhood lymphomas. Despite the observation that more than 90% of pediatric cases harbor the anaplastic lymphoma kinase ( rearrangement resulting in aberrant ALK kinase expression, there is significant clinical, morphologic, and biological heterogeneity. To gain insights into the genomic aberrations and molecular heterogeneity within ALK-positive ALCL(ALK+ ALCL), we analyzed 46 pediatric ALK+ ALCLs by whole-exome sequencing, RNA-sequencing, and DNA methylation profiling.

Expectation management in AI: A framework for understanding stakeholder trust and acceptance of artificial intelligence systems.

As artificial intelligence systems gain traction, their trustworthiness becomes paramount to harness their benefits and mitigate risks. This study underscores the pressing need for an expectation management framework to align stakeholder anticipations before any system-related activities, such as data collection, modeling, or implementation. To this end, we introduce a comprehensive framework tailored to capture end-user expectations specifically for trustworthy artificial intelligence systems.

Vesicular stomatitis virus in two species of rhinoceros at a California zoological park.

Objective: To describe an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in southern white rhinoceros (SWR; Ceratotherium simum simum) and greater one-horned rhinoceros (GOHR; Rhinoceros unicornis) at a safari park in San Diego, CA, from May to September 2023.

Animals: 21 SWR and 5 GOHR in professionally managed care.

Methods: Rhinoceros of both species presented with a range of clinical signs and severities.

Accounting for unobserved population dynamics and aging error in close-kin mark-recapture assessments.

Obtaining robust estimates of population abundance is a central challenge hindering the conservation and management of many threatened and exploited species. Close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR) is a genetics-based approach that has strong potential to improve the monitoring of data-limited species by enabling estimates of abundance, survival, and other parameters for populations that are challenging to assess. However, CKMR models have received limited sensitivity testing under realistic population dynamics and sampling scenarios, impeding the application of the method in population monitoring programs and stock assessments.

Influences on policy-formulation, decision-making, organisation and management for maternal, newborn and child health in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda: The roles and legitimacy of a multi-country network.

The Network for Improving Quality of Care for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (QCN) is intended to facilitate learning, action, leadership and accountability for improving quality of care in member countries. This requires legitimacy-a network's right to exert power within national contexts. This is reflected, for example, in a government's buy-in and perceived ownership of the work of the network.