Micronutrient dose response (MiNDR) study among women of reproductive age and pregnant women in rural Bangladesh: study protocol for double-blind, randomised, controlled trials.

Introduction: Optimising the micronutrient status of women before and during reproduction confers benefits to them and their offspring. Antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), given as a daily tablet with nutrients at ~1 recommended dietary allowance (RDA) or adequate intake (AI) reduces adverse birth outcomes. However, at this dosage, MMS may not fully address micronutrient deficiencies in settings with chronically inadequate diets and infection.

Complementary Food Supplements Fill Energy and Protein Gaps among Children with Dietary Inadequacy in a Complementary Feeding Trial in Rural Bangladesh.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the dietary impact of complementary food supplements (CFSs) designed to deliver macro- and micronutrients to children at risk for undernutrition. In a randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh, we previously reported that CFSs increased children's micronutrient adequacy.

Objectives: To longitudinally characterize energy and macronutrient intakes and inadequacies and evaluate the extent to which CFSs fill intake gaps.

New evidence on patella resurfacing in modern total knee arthroplasty for all inflammatory arthritis in a mixed Asian population.

Background: Traditional teaching advocates for routine patella resurfacing (PR) during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients with inflammatory arthritis. However, evidence on this topic remains limited in the Asian population. This study aims to evaluate the postoperative outcomes and complication of patella resurfacing (PR) during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Asian patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Treatment outcome of modified endoscopic assisted sinus surgery for treating maxillary sinus diseases with three dimensional volumetric analysis.

This retrospective study aimed to analyze volumetric changes of the maxillary sinus after modified endoscopic-assisted sinus surgery (MESS) and to assess short-term treatment outcomes. The volumes of the total maxillary sinus, aeration, and sinus pathology were calculated using computed tomography data obtained prior to surgery and six months after surgery. Postoperative radiological improvement was assessed using the Lund-Mackay score.

Novel Genes Associated With Atrial Fibrillation and the Predictive Models for AF Incorporating Polygenic Risk Score and PheWAS-Derived Risk Factors.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common atrial arrhythmia, presents with varied clinical manifestations. Despite the identification of genetic loci associated with AF, particularly in specific populations, research within Asian ethnicities remains limited. In this study we aimed to develop predictive models for AF using AF-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on a substantial cohort of Taiwanese individuals, to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the model.

Early childhood height is a determinant of young adult stature in rural Nepal.

Background: Does preschool height predict adult stature in undernourished settings? The extent to which preschool length or height forecasts young adult stature is unclear in chronically undernourished populations.

Methods: In 2006-8, we assessed height in a cohort of 2074 young adults, aged 16-23 years, in rural Nepal who, as preschoolers (≤ 4 year), were measured at baseline and again 16 months later during a vitamin A supplementation trial in 1989-91. We assessed by linear regression the ability of preschool length (L, measured < 24 mo) or height (Ht, 24-59 mo), at each year of age to predict 16-23 year old height, adjusted for month of young adult age, interval duration (in months), caste, preschool weight-for-height z-score and, in young women, time since menarche, marriage status and pregnancy history.

An Early Gestation Plasma Inflammasome in Rural Bangladeshi Women.

Circulating α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are commonly measured to assess inflammation, but these biomarkers fail to reveal the complex molecular biology of inflammation. We mined the maternal plasma proteome to detect proteins that covary with AGP and CRP. In 435 gravida predominantly in <12-week gestation, we correlated the relative quantification of plasma proteins assessed via a multiplexed aptamer assay (SOMAScan) with AGP and CRP, quantified by immunoassay.

Quality of cementing in hemiarthroplasty for elderly neck of femur fractures does not affect short term functional outcomes.

Introduction: Cemented hip hemiarthroplasty is a routine surgical option for elderly neck of femur (NOF) fractures. It is uncertain if quality of cementing has any effect on functional outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine if the quality of cementing would affect short term functional outcomes in elderly neck of femur fractures.

Targeting strategies for balanced energy and protein (BEP) supplementation in pregnancy: study protocol for the TARGET-BEP cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends balanced energy and protein (BEP) supplementation be provided to all pregnant women living in undernourished populations, usually defined as having a prevalence > 20% of underweight women, to reduce the risk of stillbirths and small-for-gestational-age neonates. Few geographies meet this threshold, however, and a large proportion of undernourished women and those with inadequate gestational weight gain could miss benefiting from BEP. This study compares the effectiveness of individual targeting approaches for supplementation with micronutrient-fortified BEP vs.

Shorter length of stay and significant cost savings with ambulatory surgery primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty in Asians using enhanced recovery protocols.

Introduction: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has reduced the length of stay (LOS) and cost of TKA in the Western population. Asians had been identified to be at higher odds of non-home discharge following TKA due to cultural differences. The efficacy of ERAS in TKA for Asian patients is less known.

Prelacteal feeding is not associated with infant size at 3 months in rural Bangladesh: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Early and exclusive breastfeeding may reduce neonatal and post-neonatal mortality in low-resource settings. However, prelacteal feeding (PLF), the practice of giving food or liquid before breastfeeding is established, is still a barrier to optimal breastfeeding practices in many South Asian countries. We used a prospective cohort study to assess the association between feeding non-breastmilk food or liquid in the first three days of life and infant size at 3-5 months of age.

Maxillary Sinus Augmentation and Implant Installation in Patients With Pseudocysts and Mucous Retention Cysts.

This case study systematically assessed diverse approaches to sinus augmentation in the presence of sinus pathology. Three patients were carefully selected and categorized as pseudocyst (PsC) (type 1), mucous retention cyst (MRC) smaller than 20 mm (type 2), and MRC larger than 20 mm in size (type 3). All patients underwent sinus augmentation procedures, with each case utilizing a unique surgical approach.

Neonatal mortality risk of vulnerable newborns by fine stratum of gestational age and birthweight for 230 679 live births in nine low- and middle-income countries, 2000-2017.

Objective: To describe the mortality risks by fine strata of gestational age and birthweight among 230 679 live births in nine low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017.

Design: Descriptive multi-country secondary data analysis.

Setting: Nine LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, and Latin America.

Neonatal mortality risk of vulnerable newborns: A descriptive analysis of subnational, population-based birth cohorts for 238 203 live births in low- and middle-income settings from 2000 to 2017.

Objective: We aimed to understand the mortality risks of vulnerable newborns (defined as preterm and/or born weighing smaller or larger compared to a standard population), in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: Descriptive multi-country, secondary analysis of individual-level study data of babies born since 2000.

Setting: Sixteen subnational, population-based studies from nine LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, and Latin America.

TAHDNet: Time-aware hierarchical dependency network for medication recommendation.

Medication recommendation is a hot topic in the research of applying neural networks to the healthcare area. Although extensive progressions have been made, current researches still face the following challenges: (i). Existing methods are poor at efficiently capturing and leveraging local and global dependency information from patient visit records.

Longitudinal Assessment of Prenatal, Perinatal, and Early-Life Aflatoxin B Exposure in 828 Mother-Child Dyads from Bangladesh and Malawi.

Background: In utero or early-life exposure to aflatoxin, which contaminates staple crops in disadvantaged settings, may compromise pregnancy and infant outcomes, but investigations into the extent, persistence, and determinants of aflatoxin exposure at these life stages have lacked longitudinal data collection and broad geographic representation.

Objectives: Aflatoxin exposure and selected determinants thereof were characterized in mother-child dyads with serial plasma/serum samples in prenatal, perinatal, and early life in Malawi and Bangladesh.

Methods: Circulating aflatoxin B (AFB)-lysine albumin adducts were measured in dyads from Bangladesh (= 573; maternal first and third trimester, 3 mo postpartum, cord blood, infant 24 mo) and Malawi (= 255; maternal second and third trimester, 6 mo postpartum, infant 6 and 18 mo) with isotope dilution mass spectrometry.

Birth anthropometry predicts neonatal and infant mortality in rural Bangladesh: a focus on circumferential measurements.

Background: Low birth weight predicts risk of infant death. However, several birth measurements may be equally predictive, for which cutoffs and associated risks are less explored.

Objectives: We assessed and optimized population cutoffs of birth length, weight, and midupper arm circumference (MUAC), head circumference (HC), and chest circumference (CC) for predicting neonatal (≤28 d) and infant (≤365 d) mortality in northwest Bangladesh.

Autism spectrum disorder in a rural community in Bangladesh: A mid-childhood assessment.

Population-based studies employing standardized diagnostics are needed to determine the burden of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in low-resource settings. A community-based study was conducted among 8-11 year old children in rural, northwestern Bangladesh to establish the prevalence of ASD. A standardized screening and diagnosis protocol was adapted and deployed comprising the social communication questionnaire (SCQ), and the autism diagnostic observation schedule 2, (ADOS-2), and the autism diagnostic interview, revised (ADI-R), respectively.

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers.

Background: Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development.

Objectives: We aimed to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNSs on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects.

Methods: We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention against control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNSs provided to children age 6-24 mo (total n = 30,024).

Characterization of pubertal development of girls in rural Bangladesh.

This study aimed to describe the timing and patterns of pubertal maturation of girls living in rural Bangladesh. Starting in September 2015, a total of 15,320 girls from a birth cohort, aged 9 to 15 years at initial encounter, were visited twice at about a one year interval, typically in their birth month. Participants were asked to self-report extent of pubertal maturation, including breast development, pubic hair growth and age at menarche, if applicable.

A longitudinal impact evaluation of a comprehensive nutrition program for reducing stunting among children aged 6-23 months in rural Malawi.

Background: Growth failure in sub-Saharan Africa leads to a high prevalence of child stunting starting in infancy, and is attributed to dietary inadequacy, poor hygiene, and morbidity.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a program in Malawi providing a lipid-based nutrient supplement to infants from 6-23 months of age, accompanied by a social and behavior change communication intervention to optimize caregiver feeding and handwashing practices.

Methods: This impact evaluation was a quasi-experimental, longitudinal study with 1 program and 1 comparison district.