Publications by authors named "M Fentress"

Cell competition is a process that compares the relative fitness of progenitor cells, resulting in winners, which contribute further to development, and losers, which are excluded, and is likely a universal quality control process that contributes to the fitness of an individual. Cell competition also has pathological consequences, and can create super-competitor cells responsible for tumor progression. We are studying cell competition during germline regeneration in the colonial ascidian, Botryllus schlosseri.

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Background: There are limited data on the performance characteristics of ultrasound for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons. The objective of this proof-of-concept study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in adults.

Methods: Comprehensive thoracic and focused abdominal ultrasound examinations were performed by trained radiologists and pulmonologists on adults recruited from a community multimorbidity survey and a primary healthcare clinic in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

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Thoracic ultrasound is an appealing alternative to chest radiography for the diagnosis of TB. Based on research experience conducting thoracic ultrasound for adults and children in South Africa, three key considerations for potential scale-up were identified. First, thoracic ultrasound requires a comprehensive training programme for novice users; artificial intelligence may be used to simplify training and interpretation.

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Lung ultrasound is increasingly used as a diagnostic tool for pulmonary pathologies by nonspecialist clinicians in resource-limited settings where chest X-ray may not be readily available. However, the optimal technique for lung ultrasound in these settings is not yet clearly defined. We describe here our experience of implementing a standardized, focused six-zone, 12-view lung ultrasound scanning technique with a high-frequency probe in both adults and children in a resource-limited setting in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is predominantly a neglected tropical parasitic disease but may also be acquired by travellers. We aimed at summarizing knowledge on sonographic presentation of VL to better understand sonographic features of VL.

Methods: PubMed was searched for studies and case reports presenting original data on sonographic findings of VL, published before August 13th, 2019.

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