The Case for Using a Behavior Change Model to Design Interventions to Promote Respectful Maternal Care.

Applying a behavior change framework to guide the design of interventions to improve respectful maternity care (RMC) could accelerate and unify the implementation and evaluation of diverse RMC interventions.

Beyond the Safe Motherhood Initiative: Accelerated Action Urgently Needed to End Preventable Maternal Mortality.

Many countries will need to double, or more than double, their current annual rate of reduction of maternal mortality to ensure sufficient progress toward national targets and the global Sustainable Development Goals. Dedication to the principles and actions of quality, equity, dignity, social justice, and human rights are key.

Progression of the first stage of spontaneous labour: A prospective cohort study in two sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Escalation in the global rates of labour interventions, particularly cesarean section and oxytocin augmentation, has renewed interest in a better understanding of natural labour progression. Methodological advancements in statistical and computational techniques addressing the limitations of pioneer studies have led to novel findings and triggered a re-evaluation of current labour practices. As part of the World Health Organization's Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty (BOLD) project, which aimed to develop a new labour monitoring-to-action tool, we examined the patterns of labour progression as depicted by cervical dilatation over time in a cohort of women in Nigeria and Uganda who gave birth vaginally following a spontaneous labour onset.

Realizing the promise of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

Reflecting on Storeng and Béhague ("Lives in the balance": the politics of integration in the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Health Policy and Planning Storeng and Béhague (2016).) historical ethnography of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), this commentary provides a more current account of PMNCH's trajectory since its inception in 2005.

Financial incentives and maternal health: where do we go from here?

Health financing strategies that incorporate financial incentives are being applied in many low- and middle-income countries, and improving maternal and neonatal health is often a central goal. As yet, there have been few reviews of such programmes and their impact on maternal health. The US Government Evidence Summit on Enhancing Provision and use of Maternal Health Services through Financial Incentives was convened on 24-25 April 2012 to address this gap.

Investigating financial incentives for maternal health: an introduction.

Projection of current trends in maternal and neonatal mortality reduction shows that many countries will fall short of the UN Millennium Development Goal 4 and 5. Underutilization of maternal health services contributes to this poor progress toward reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Moreover, the quality of services continues to lag in many countries, with a negative effect on the health of women and their babies, including deterring women from seeking care.

Development of novel dual binders as potent, selective, and orally bioavailable tankyrase inhibitors.

Tankyrases (TNKS1 and TNKS2) are proteins in the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) family. They have been shown to directly bind to axin proteins, which negatively regulate the Wnt pathway by promoting β-catenin degradation. Inhibition of tankyrases may offer a novel approach to the treatment of APC-mutant colorectal cancer.

Moving beyond essential interventions for reduction of maternal mortality (the WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health): a cross-sectional study.

Background: We report the main findings of the WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health (WHOMCS), which aimed to assess the burden of complications related to pregnancy, the coverage of key maternal health interventions, and use of the maternal severity index (MSI) in a global network of health facilities.

Methods: In our cross-sectional study, we included women attending health facilities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East that dealt with at least 1000 childbirths per year and had the capacity to provide caesarean section. We obtained data from analysis of hospital records for all women giving birth and all women who had a severe maternal outcome (SMO; ie, maternal death or maternal near miss).

Uterine bacterial isolates from mares and their resistance to antimicrobials: 8,296 cases (2003-2008).

Objective: To describe bacteria isolated from reproductive tracts of mares and to examine the extent and patterns of resistance to antimicrobials commonly used for treatment of endometritis.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Sample: 8,296 uterine swab, lavage, or biopsy samples obtained between January 2003 and December 2008 from 7,665 horses in central Florida.

High-throughput 96-well solvent mediated sonic blending synthesis and on-plate solid/solution stability characterization of pharmaceutical cocrystals.

A 96-well high-throughput cocrystal screening workflow has been developed consisting of solvent-mediated sonic blending synthesis and on-plate solid/solution stability characterization by XRPD. A strategy of cocrystallization screening in selected blend solvents including water mixtures is proposed to not only manipulate solubility of the cocrystal components but also differentiate physical stability of the cocrystal products. Caffeine-oxalic acid and theophylline-oxalic acid cocrystals were prepared and evaluated in relation to saturation levels of the cocrystal components and stability of the cocrystal products in anhydrous and hydrous solvents.

Discovery and optimization of potent and selective imidazopyridine and imidazopyridazine mTOR inhibitors.

mTOR is a critical regulator of cellular signaling downstream of multiple growth factors. The mTOR/PI3K/AKT pathway is frequently mutated in human cancers and is thus an important oncology target. Herein we report the evolution of our program to discover ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitors that demonstrate improved pharmacokinetic properties and selectivity compared to our previous leads.

Discovery of triazine-benzimidazoles as selective inhibitors of mTOR.

mTOR is part of the PI3K/AKT pathway and is a central regulator of cell growth and survival. Since many cancers display mutations linked to the mTOR signaling pathway, mTOR has emerged as an important target for oncology therapy. Herein, we report the discovery of triazine benzimidazole inhibitors that inhibit mTOR kinase activity with up to 200-fold selectivity over the structurally homologous kinase PI3Kα.

Improved pharmacokinetics of AMG 517 through co-crystallization part 2: analysis of 12 carboxylic acid co-crystals.

Intrinsic dissolution, powder dissolution, and the pharmacokinetics (PK) of 12 carboxylic acid co-crystals of AMG 517 were determined and compared. Dissolution studies were performed in fasted simulated intestinal fluid (FaSIF). A control dissolution experiment was conducted with the free base in FaSIF plus sorbic acid to compare with the AMG 517 sorbic acid co-crystal (SRA).

Preclinical evaluation of AMG 900, a novel potent and highly selective pan-aurora kinase inhibitor with activity in taxane-resistant tumor cell lines.

In mammalian cells, the aurora kinases (aurora-A, -B, and -C) play essential roles in regulating cell division. The expression of aurora-A and -B is elevated in a variety of human cancers and is associated with high proliferation rates and poor prognosis, making them attractive targets for anticancer therapy. AMG 900 is an orally bioavailable, potent, and highly selective pan-aurora kinase inhibitor that is active in taxane-resistant tumor cell lines.

Improved pharmacokinetics of AMG 517 through co-crystallization. Part 1: comparison of two acids with corresponding amide co-crystals.

The dissolution and pharmacokinetics (PK) of two carboxylic acid co-crystals (cinnamic acid and benzoic acid) with the corresponding amide co-crystals (cinnamamide and benzamide) of AMG 517 were investigated. Powder and intrinsic dissolution studies were performed in fasted simulated intestinal fluid (FaSIF). Suspension formulations in 1% polyvinylpyrrolidone K25 in water were administered orally at 100 mg/kg to rats.

The co-crystal approach to improve the exposure of a water-insoluble compound: AMG 517 sorbic acid co-crystal characterization and pharmacokinetics.

Co-crystals are relatively novel in the pharmaceutical field and are not reported extensively. AMG 517 is an insoluble small molecule VR1 (vanilloid receptor 1) antagonist. In animal studies, good exposure of AMG 517 is seen from a 10% (w/v) Pluronic F108 in OraPlus suspension.