'Making abortion safe': abortion and post-abortion care providers' experiences of stigma in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Background: Social stigma and the marginalisation of abortion care within medical settings can negatively affect abortion providers. While some research has evaluated stigma interventions in legally restrictive settings, little work has explored the experiences of healthcare professionals (HCPs) providing abortion and post-abortion care (PAC) outside the USA. This study, part of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' 'Making Abortion Safe' programme, aimed to understand providers' experiences of abortion stigma in four African countries with restrictive legislation.

Evaluation of Two Anorganic Bovine Xenogenous Grafts in Bone Healing of Critical Defect in Rats Calvaria.

The purpose of this study was to provide an evaluation of two different xenogeneic bone substitutes in bone healing of critical-sized bone defects (Ø =5mm) created in rats calvaria. Thirty animals were randomized into 3 groups with one of the following treatments. In the control group (n=10), the defects were filled with blood clots; BO group (n=10), the defects were filled with bovine medullary bone substitute (Bio-Oss®); BF group (n=10), the defects were filled with bovine cortical bone substitute (Bonefill®).

"When you provide abortion services, you are looked upon as a bad guy": experiences of abortion stigma by health providers in Nigeria.

Background: Abortion stigma as reported globally has been inadequately documented empirically in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with a restrictive abortion law and a high rate of unsafe abortions.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to investigate the ways in which abortion stigma is experienced by Nigerian health professionals and how such experiences influence health professionals' practice of safe abortion and post-abortion care.

Methods: The study utilized qualitative research consisting of in-depth interviews with 10 abortion providers.

Association of human leucocyte antigen loci with vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia: Potential role of the interaction between platelet factor 4-derived peptides and MHC-II.

No risk factors have been identified for vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) so far. The aim of this study was to identify human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles potentially associated with VITT susceptibility. Specific HLA class II alleles were detected with significantly higher frequency in VITT patients compared with Italian controls: DPB1*17:01, DQA1*05:01, and DRB1*11:04.