The impact of zinc pre-exposure on ciprofloxacin resistance development in .

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis that is predicted to worsen in the coming years. While improper antibiotic usage is an established driver, less is known about the impact of other endogenous and exogeneous environmental factors, such as metals, on AMR. One metal of interest is zinc as it is often used as a supplement for diarrhea treatment prior to antibiotics.

Assessing the relationship between operationally defined zero-dose communities and access to selected primary healthcare services for children and pregnant women in emergency settings.

In this study the authors examine the relationship between "zero-dose" communities and access to healthcare services. This was done by first ensuring the first dose of the Diphtheria Tetanus and Pertussis vaccine was a better measure of zero-dose communities than the measles-containing vaccine. Once ensured, it was used to examine the association with access to primary healthcare services for children and pregnant women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

A mathematical model to estimate the incidence of child wasting in Yemen.

Introduction: The ongoing civil war in Yemen has severely restricted imports of food and fuel, disrupted livelihoods and displaced millions, worsening already high pre-war levels of food insecurity. Paired with frequent outbreaks of disease and a collapsed health system, this has brought rates of wasting in children under five to the country's highest recorded levels, which continue to increase as the crisis worsens and aid becomes increasingly limited. In their planning of services to treat and prevent wasting in children, humanitarian agencies rely on a standard calculation to estimate the expected number of cases for the coming year, where incidence is estimated from prevalence and the average duration of an episode of wasting.

Computational Model To Quantify the Growth of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Wastewater.

Although wastewater and sewage systems are known to be significant reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations and periodic outbreaks of drug-resistant infection, there is little quantitative understanding of the drivers behind resistant population growth in these settings. In order to fill this gap in quantitative understanding of the development of antibiotic-resistant infections in wastewater, we have developed a mathematical model synthesizing many known drivers of antibiotic resistance in these settings to help predict the growth of resistant populations in different environmental scenarios. A number of these drivers of drug-resistant infection outbreak, including antibiotic residue concentration, antibiotic interaction, chromosomal mutation, and horizontal gene transfer, have not previously been integrated into a single computational model.

A predictive model for healthcare coverage in Yemen.

Introduction: The ongoing war in Yemen continues to pose challenges for healthcare coverage in the country especially with regards to critical gaps in information systems needed for planning and delivering health services. Restricted access to social services including safe drinking water and sanitation systems have likely led to an increase in the spread of diarrheal diseases which remains one of greatest sources of mortality in children under 5 years old. To overcome morbidity and mortality from diarrheal diseases among children in the context of severe information shortages, a predictive model is needed to determine the burden of diarrheal disease on Yemeni children and their ability to reach curative health services through an estimate of healthcare coverage.

Economic Evaluation of Screening Interventions for Drug-induced Liver Injury.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) continue to be a significant global burden, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While much progress has been made in treating these epidemics, this has led to a rise in liver complications, as patients on ARTs and anti-TBs are at an increased risk of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Therefore, patients on these medicines require consistent screening of liver function.

The role of assembly parameters on polyplex poly(beta-amino ester) nanoparticle transfections.

Intracellular delivery of nucleic acids to mammalian cells using polyplex nanoparticles (NPs) remains a challenge both in vitro and in vivo, with transfections often suffering from variable efficacy. To improve reproducibility and efficacy of transfections in vitro using a next-generation polyplex transfection material poly(beta-amino ester)s (PBAEs), the influence of multiple variables in the preparation of these NPs on their transfection efficacy was explored. The results indicate that even though PBAE/pDNA polyplex NPs are formed by the self-assembly of polyelectrolytes, their transfection is not affected by the manner in which the components are mixed, facilitating self-assembly in a single step, but timing for self-assembly of 5-20 min is optimal.

Continuous microfluidic assembly of biodegradable poly(beta-amino ester)/DNA nanoparticles for enhanced gene delivery.

Translation of biomaterial-based nanoparticle formulations to the clinic faces significant challenges including efficacy, safety, consistency and scale-up of manufacturing, and stability during long-term storage. Continuous microfluidic fabrication of polymeric nanoparticles has the potential to alleviate the challenges associated with manufacture, while offering a scalable solution for clinical level production. Poly(beta-amino esters) (PBAE)s are a class of biodegradable cationic polymers that self-assemble with anionic plasmid DNA to form polyplex nanoparticles that have been shown to be effective for transfecting cancer cells specifically in vitro and in vivo.