An Eye on Efficiency: A Quality Improvement Project to Increase Ophthalmology Equipment in the Accident and Emergency Department.

Introduction Ophthalmology presentations contribute significantly to Accident and Emergency (A&E) attendance. The provision of safe care depends on clinical skills and appropriate equipment. This quality improvement project aimed to increase the availability of ophthalmoscopes and Snellen charts required for a basic ophthalmological assessment in an A&E department in North London.

Schlieren texture and topography induced confinement in an organic exciton-polariton laser.

Non-linearities in organic exciton-polariton microcavities represent an attractive platform for quantum devices. However, progress in this area hinges on the development of material platforms for high-performance polariton lasing, scalable and sustainable fabrication, and ultimately strategies for electrical pumping. Here, we show how introducing Schlieren texturing and a rough intra-cavity topography in a liquid crystalline conjugated polymer enables strong in-plane confinement of polaritons and drastic enhancement of the lasing properties.

Dietary phytoestrogens recalibrate socioemotional behavior in C57Bl/6J mice in a sex- and timing-dependent manner.

Estrogens are potent regulators of socioemotional behavior across species. Ubiquitous in human and animal diets, plant-derived phytoestrogens (PE) bind estrogen receptors. While prior work has examined the impact of PE exposure on socioemotional behavior, findings are inconsistent across studies.

Subgroup analysis by sex and baseline BMI in people with a BMI ≥27 kg/m in the phase 2 trial of survodutide, a glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist.

Aim: To explore the effects of sex and baseline body mass index (BMI) on the efficacy and safety of survodutide in people with a BMI ≥27 kg/m.

Materials And Methods: Totally 387 people (aged 18-75 years, BMI ≥27 kg/m, without diabetes) were randomized 1:1:1:1:1 to once-weekly subcutaneous survodutide (0.6, 2.

Performance of Noninvasive Tests for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis and Liver Fibrosis Resolution after Bariatric Surgery.

Background: Noninvasive tests (NITs) to monitor metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) progression and response to interventions are needed because of the risks of liver biopsy. A monocytes-based diagnostic test using perilipin-2 (PLIN2) and Ras-related protein-14 (RAB14) predict the severity of MASH and fibrosis. Here we compared the performances of PLIN2 and RAB14 with cytokeratin-18 (CK18) assessed by Ella™ or M65 ELISA in predicting MASH and fibrosis resolution following bariatric surgery in a longitudinal and histologically characterized cohort of individuals with obesity.

Mobile clinics routing and scheduling in the Witzenberg region of South Africa.

Despite much literature on operations research applied to various healthcare problems, impactful implementation in public healthcare is limited, which often results in allocative inefficiency. This article uses a mobile clinic routing and scheduling problem in the Witzenberg region of South Africa as a case study to demonstrate the improvement of implementation success through cross-disciplinary collaboration, and also to propose a new three-stage approach for modelling a mobile clinic problem that incorporates continuity of care, fairness, and minimisation of distance travelled. Mobile clinics are used in many countries to improve access to healthcare for rural communities.

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

Environmental Conditions Modulate Warming Effects on Plant Litter Decomposition Globally.

Empirical studies worldwide show that warming has variable effects on plant litter decomposition, leaving the overall impact of climate change on decomposition uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis of 109 experimental warming studies across seven continents, using natural and standardised plant material, to assess the overarching effect of warming on litter decomposition and identify potential moderating factors. We determined that at least 5.

Legacy effects of an invasive legume more strongly impact bacterial than plant communities in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem.

The impacts of invasive plants on ecosystem processes and functions may persist as "legacy effects" after their removal. Understanding these effects on native plant-soil interactions is critical for guiding ecological restoration efforts. This study examines the legacy effects of the invasive legume Acacia saligna (Labill.

Cardiovascular-Liver-Metabolic Health: Recommendations in Screening, Diagnosis, and Management of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in Cardiovascular Disease via Modified Delphi Approach.

There is a new awareness of the widespread nature of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its connection to cardiovascular disease (CVD). This has catalyzed collaboration between cardiologists, hepatologists, endocrinologists, and the wider multidisciplinary team to address the need for earlier identification of those with MASLD who are at increased risk for CVD. The overlap in the pathophysiologic processes and parallel prevalence of CVD, metabolic syndrome, and MASLD highlight the multisystem consequences of poor cardiovascular-liver-metabolic health.

Preparation of nursing students in nursing informatics competencies for the South African healthcare practice environment.

Background: Rapid technology advancements highlight the importance for nursing education to prepare competent nurses in informatics and technology integrated practice. This study examined nursing informatics in an undergraduate curriculum and competency levels at a selected South African university.

Method: A survey measured nursing informatics competencies among undergraduate nursing students using the TANIC© nursing informatics scale.

Characteristics and Popularity of Videos of Abusive Head Trauma Prevention: Systematic Appraisal.

Background: Numerous strategies for preventing abusive head trauma (AHT) have been proposed, but controlled studies failed to demonstrate their effectiveness. Digital tools may improve the effectiveness of AHT prevention strategies by reaching a large proportion of the adult population.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the characteristics of videos of AHT prevention published on the internet, including their quality content, and to study their association with popularity.

Discrimination against adolescents with chronic diseases: a systematic review.

Unlabelled: Discrimination is a social construct that discredits individuals based on attributes deemed socially undesirable. Adolescence is a period of transition where individuals acquire skills, values, and experiences that prepare them for adulthood. Adverse experiences during adolescence could particularly affect these acquisitions.

Data-driven cluster analysis identifies distinct types of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) exhibits considerable variability in clinical outcomes. Identifying specific phenotypic profiles within MASLD is essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies. Here we investigated the heterogeneity of MASLD using partitioning around medoids clustering based on six simple clinical variables in a cohort of 1,389 individuals living with obesity.

Brain abscesses in an immunocompromised patient with a soft tissue mass.

Unlabelled: Nocardiosis is a rare opportunistic infection and may be misdiagnosed as tuberculosis in the immunocompromised patient. This case report highlights the importance of doing tissue cultures in immunocompromised individuals to correctly identify spp. and initiate appropriate treatment timeously.

Breaking the angular dispersion limit in thin film optics by ultra-strong light-matter coupling.

Thin film interference is integral to modern photonics, e.g., allowing for precise design of high performance optical filters, photovoltaics and light-emitting devices.

Experiential Learning to Enhance Global Health Collaboration and Student Opportunity.

Students often seek opportunities to enrich their classroom learning. Providing students the chance to engage in research studies or global health projects allows for experiential enrichment. However, the impact on partners and partner sites, financial implications, and equity of student opportunity, as well as the logistical burden potentially placed on multiple parties, all need to be considered.

Application of a TB care cascade to a novel household contact intervention in rural South Africa.

Four clinics implemented an intervention to increase TB household contact identification and evaluation in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. We applied a care cascade framework to assess gaps in evaluation and treatment initiation from April 2021 to June 2023. We identified 1,698 contacts of 287 individuals with TB.