Breastfeeding patterns and its determinants among mothers living with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus -1 in four African countries participating in the ANRS 12174 trial.

Background: HIV-1 transmission rates have been reduced over the last decade, an estimated 2 million new infections per year arise, including 220,000 paediatric cases. The main post-natal HIV exposure is through breastfeeding, where both its duration and modality (exclusive or not) are associated with postnatal transmission. The ANRS 12174 trial compared HIV-1 postnatal transmission of 2 prophylaxis drugs for infants during lactation (lamivudine and lopinavir-ritonavir).

Long-Term In Vivo Monitoring of Adult-Derived Human Liver Stem/Progenitor Cells by Bioluminescence Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography, and Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography.

Adult-derived human liver stem/progenitor cells (ADHLSCs) have the potential to alleviate liver injury. However, the optimal delivery route and long-term biodistribution of ADHLSCs remain unclear. In this article, we used a triple fusion reporter system to determine the kinetic differences in the biodistribution of ADHLSCs following intrasplenic (IS) and intrahepatic (IH) administration in severe combined immunodeficiency/beige mice.

Scanty smears associated with initial loss to follow-up in South African tuberculosis patients.

Background: Smear-positive patients should be started on anti-tuberculosis treatment promptly. However, studies show that up to 38% of diagnosed patients are initial loss to follow-up (LTFU), meaning they do not start treatment after diagnosis. We investigated determinants of initial LTFU at primary health care facilities.

Has universal screening with Xpert® MTB/RIF increased the proportion of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases diagnosed in a routine operational setting?

Setting: Primary health services in Cape Town, South Africa where the introduction of Xpert® MTB/RIF (Xpert) enabled simultaneous screening for tuberculosis (TB) and drug susceptibility in all presumptive cases.

Study Aim: To compare the proportion of TB cases with drug susceptibility tests undertaken and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) diagnosed pre-treatment and during the course of 1st line treatment in the previous smear/culture and the newly introduced Xpert-based algorithms.

Methods: TB cases identified in a previous stepped-wedge study of TB yield in five sub-districts over seven one-month time-points prior to, during and after the introduction of the Xpert-based algorithm were analysed.

Multicenter Evaluation of Cystatin C Measurement after Assay Standardization.

Background: Since 2010, a certified reference material ERM-DA471/IFCC has been available for cystatin C (CysC). This study aimed to assess the sources of uncertainty in results for clinical samples measured using standardized assays.

Methods: This evaluation was performed in 2015 and involved 7 clinical laboratories located in France and Belgium.

Structural Level Differences in the Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Rate in South Africa: A Multilevel Assessment of Individual-, Health Facility-, and Provincial-Level Predictors of Infant HIV Transmission.

Objectives: In 2010, South Africa reported an early mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate of 3.5% at 4-8 weeks postpartum. Provincial early MTCT rates ranged from 1.

Kinobead and Single-Shot LC-MS Profiling Identifies Selective PKD Inhibitors.

ATP-competitive protein kinase inhibitors are important research tools and therapeutic agents. Because there are >500 human kinases that contain highly conserved active sites, the development of selective inhibitors is extremely challenging. Methods to rapidly and efficiently profile kinase inhibitor targets in cell lysates are urgently needed to discover selective compounds and to elucidate the mechanisms of action for polypharmacological inhibitors.

Comprehensive Screening of Cell Surface Markers Expressed by Adult-Derived Human Liver Stem/Progenitor Cells Harvested at Passage 5: Potential Implications for Engraftment.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are known to have potential therapeutic benefits for a number of diseases. However, many studies report low engraftment levels, regardless of the target organ. One possible explanation could be that MSCs do not express the necessary receptors for engraftment.

Socioeconomic and modifiable predictors of blood pressure control for hypertension in primary care attenders in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Background: Low socioeconomic status is associated with the risk of hypertension. There are few reports of the effect of socioeconomic and potentially modifiable factors on the control of hypertension in South Africa (SA).

Objectives: To investigate associations between patients' socio-economic status and characteristics of primary healthcare facilities, and control and treatment of blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

Evaluation of a large healthy lifestyle program: informing program implementation and scale-up in the prevention of obesity.

Background: The Healthy Lifestyle Program for women (HeLP-her) is a low-intensity, self-management program which has demonstrated efficacy in preventing excess weight gain in women. However, little is known about the implementation, reach, and sustainability of low-intensity prevention programs in rural settings, where risk for obesity in women is higher than urban settings. We aimed to evaluate a low-intensity healthy lifestyle program delivered to women in a rural setting to inform development of effective community prevention programs.

Educational Outreach with an Integrated Clinical Tool for Nurse-Led Non-communicable Chronic Disease Management in Primary Care in South Africa: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial.

Background: In many low-income countries, care for patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health conditions is provided by nurses. The benefits of nurse substitution and supplementation in NCD care in high-income settings are well recognised, but evidence from low- and middle-income countries is limited. Primary Care 101 (PC101) is a programme designed to support and expand nurses' role in NCD care, comprising educational outreach to nurses and a clinical management tool with enhanced prescribing provisions.

Individual, social and environmental factors and their association with weight in rural-dwelling women.

Objective: Obesity is a major public health concern and women living in rural settings present a high-risk group. With contributing factors poorly explored, we evaluated their association with weight in rural Australian women.

Methods: Women aged 18-50 years of any body mass index (BMI) were recruited between October 2012 and April 2013 as part of a larger, randomised controlled trial within 42 rural towns.

School-based interventions for preventing HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy in adolescents.

Background: School-based sexual and reproductive health programmes are widely accepted as an approach to reducing high-risk sexual behaviour among adolescents. Many studies and systematic reviews have concentrated on measuring effects on knowledge or self-reported behaviour rather than biological outcomes, such as pregnancy or prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of school-based sexual and reproductive health programmes on sexually transmitted infections (such as HIV, herpes simplex virus, and syphilis), and pregnancy among adolescents.

Changes in drinking patterns during and after pregnancy among mothers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome: A study in three districts of South Africa.

Background: Mixed ancestry populations in South Africa have amongst the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) worldwide. Defining the drinking patterns of women with a FAS child guides FAS preventive interventions.

Methods: Data were drawn from FAS prevalence surveys conducted in three districts: Witzenberg (Cape Winelands), Frances Baard (inland mining town) and Saldanha Bay (coastal towns).

Differential associations of cardiovascular disease risk factors with relative wealth in urban-dwelling South Africans.

Background: To examine the associations of cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVDRF) with wealth, defined by the asset index, in 25- to 74-year-old black Africans in Cape Town.

Methods: Assets, including consumer durable goods, and CVDRF were determined in a randomly selected cross-sectional sample. A principal component analysis of the pooled data, based on assets that defined wealth, was used to develop an asset index.

Single Amino Acid Substitution N659D in HIV-2 Envelope Glycoprotein (Env) Impairs Viral Release and Hampers BST-2 Antagonism.

BST-2 or tetherin is a host cell restriction factor that prevents the budding of enveloped viruses at the cell surface, thus impairing the viral spread. Several countermeasures to evade this antiviral factor have been positively selected in retroviruses: the human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) relies on the envelope glycoprotein (Env) to overcome BST-2 restriction. The Env gp36 ectodomain seems involved in this anti-tetherin activity, however residues and regions interacting with BST-2 are not clearly defined.

Population-level effectiveness of PMTCT Option A on early mother-to-child (MTCT) transmission of HIV in South Africa: implications for eliminating MTCT.

Background: Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV (EMTCT), defined as ≤50 infant HIV infections per 100 000 live births, is a global priority. Since 2011 policies to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) shifted from maternal antiretroviral (ARV) treatment or prophylaxis contingent on CD4 cell count to lifelong maternal ARV treatment (cART). We sought to measure progress with early (4-8 weeks postpartum) MTCT prevention and elimination, 2011-2013, at national and sub-national levels in South Africa, a high antenatal HIV prevalence setting ( ≈ 29%), where early MTCT was 3.

Adult-Derived Human Liver Stem/Progenitor Cells Infused 3 Days Postsurgery Improve Liver Regeneration in a Mouse Model of Extended Hepatectomy.

There is growing evidence that cell therapy constitutes a promising strategy for liver regenerative medicine. In the setting of hepatic cancer treatments, cell therapy could prove a useful therapeutic approach for managing the acute liver failure that occurs following extended hepatectomy. In this study, we examined the influence of delivering adult-derived human liver stem/progenitor cells (ADHLSCs) at two different early time points in an immunodeficient mouse model (Rag2-/-IL2Rγ-/-) that had undergone a 70% hepatectomy procedure.

Cyclosporine A disposition, hepatic and renal tolerance in Wistar rat.

Cyclosporine A, a potent calcineurin inhibitor, has been widely used in organ transplantation and in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It has, however, been shown to induce serious renal and hepatic side effects. The drug is also used in preclinical studies, but with little published information on the optimal dose and route of administration in rodents.

The protective effects of resveratrol on social stress-induced cytokine release and depressive-like behavior.

Social stress is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders, however only a subset of the population is susceptible while others remain resilient. Inflammation has been linked to the pathogenesis of psychosocial disorders in humans and may underlie these individual differences. Using a resident-intruder paradigm capable of revealing individual differences in coping behavior and inflammatory responses, the present study determined if resveratrol (RSV; 0, 10, 30mg/kg/day) protected against persistent stress-induced inflammation in socially defeated rats.

A parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in South Africa: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems.

Increased risk of dysglycaemia in South Africans with HIV; especially those on protease inhibitors.

Aims: To compare dysglycaemia prevalence (impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), or diabetes) in HIV-infected persons, stratified by antiretroviral therapy (ART), with a community-based survey (CBS) in Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods: Three groups of HIV-infected adults without known diabetes were conveniently sampled from community healthcare centres; ART-naïve, first-line ART (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) plus dual NRTIs), and second-line ART (lopinavir/ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor plus dual NRTIs). The CBS recruited a representative cross-sectional sample from urban townships.