A qualitative study of risks and protective factors against pregnancy among sexually-active adolescents in Soweto, South Africa.

Risky sexual behaviors contribute to increased risk of adolescent pregnancy. This qualitative study sought to understand risks and protective factors against pregnancy amongst sexually-active adolescents in Soweto, South Africa. We used purposive sampling to recruit women at age 24 years from Soweto, who self-reported having sexual debut by age 15 years.

Secondary analysis of retrospective and prospective reports of adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adulthood: Filtered through recent stressors.

Background: Evidence has identified the detrimental effects that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have on outcomes across the life course. We assess associations between prospective and retrospective ACEs and mental health in young adulthood and the influence of recent stressors.

Methods: Secondary analysis of a sample of 1592 young adults from the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort, from 1990 to 2013, were assessed throughout their first 18 years for prospective ACEs.

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, resilience and social justice in the COVID era.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on how health outcomes are unequally distributed among different population groups, with disadvantaged communities and individuals being disproportionality affected in terms of infection, morbidity and mortality, as well as vaccine access. Recently, there has been considerable debate about how social disadvantage and inequality intersect with developmental processes to result in a heightened susceptibility to environmental stressors, economic shocks and large-scale health emergencies. We argue that DOHaD Society members can make important contributions to addressing issues of inequality and improving community resilience in response to COVID-19.

Digital messaging to support control for type 2 diabetes (StAR2D): a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Failure to take medicines for diabetes as prescribed contributes to poor outcomes from the condition. Mobile phones are ubiquitous and short message service (SMS) texts have shown promise as a low-cost intervention. We tested the effectiveness of SMS-text messaging in improving outcomes in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The influence of maternal blood glucose during pregnancy on weight outcomes at birth and preschool age in offspring exposed to hyperglycemia first detected during pregnancy, in a South African cohort.

Introduction: Little is known about the influence of hyperglycemia first detected in pregnancy (HFDP) on weight outcomes in exposed offspring in Africa. We investigated the influence of maternal blood glucose concentrations during pregnancy on offspring weight outcomes at birth and preschool age, in offspring exposed to HFDP, in South Africa.

Research Design And Methods: Women diagnosed with HFDP had data routinely collected during the pregnancy and at delivery, at a referral hospital, and the offspring followed up at preschool age.

Effect of Hearing Aid Technology Level on New Hearing Aid Users.

Background: Hearing aid manufacturers offer several different levels of technology that vary in sophistication and cost. It would stand to reason that higher technology hearing aids would provide greater benefit in the daily life of the user; however, research does not support this assumption for all users. Recent research in experienced hearing aid users indicated noise acceptance and satisfaction for speech in a large group were significantly improved when using the premium devices and suggested noise acceptance may be useful when comparing hearing aid technology levels.

A selective antibiotic for Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is on the rise. Caused by a spirochete Borreliella burgdorferi, it affects an estimated 500,000 people in the United States alone. The antibiotics currently used to treat Lyme disease are broad spectrum, damage the microbiome, and select for resistance in non-target bacteria.

Oromandibular Dystonia: A Clinical Examination of 2,020 Cases.

The goal of this study is to better characterize the phenotypic heterogeneity of oromandibular dystonia (OMD) for the purpose of facilitating early diagnosis. First, we provide a comprehensive summary of the literature encompassing 1,121 cases. Next, we describe the clinical features of 727 OMD subjects enrolled by the Dystonia Coalition (DC), an international multicenter cohort.

Remdesivir is efficacious in rhesus monkeys exposed to aerosolized Ebola virus.

Efficacious therapeutics for Ebola virus disease are in great demand. Ebola virus infections mediated by mucosal exposure, and aerosolization in particular, present a novel challenge due to nontypical massive early infection of respiratory lymphoid tissues. We performed a randomized and blinded study to compare outcomes from vehicle-treated and remdesivir-treated rhesus monkeys in a lethal model of infection resulting from aerosolized Ebola virus exposure.

Comparison of transcriptional profiles of Treponema pallidum during experimental infection of rabbits and in vitro culture: Highly similar, yet different.

Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, can now be cultured continuously in vitro utilizing a tissue culture system, and the multiplication rates are similar to those obtained in experimental infection of rabbits. In this study, the RNA transcript profiles of the T.

Evaluating genetic and genomic tests for heritable conditions in Australia: lessons learnt from health technology assessments.

The Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) is an independent non-statutory committee established by the Australian government to provide recommendations on public reimbursement of technologies and services, other than pharmaceuticals. MSAC has established approaches for undertaking health technology assessment (HTA) of investigative services and codependent technologies. In 2016, MSAC published its clinical utility card (CUC) Proforma, an additional tool to guide assessments of genetic testing for heritable conditions.

Associations Between and Polymorphisms, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Black South Africans.

Research in European and Asian populations has reported associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in and and circulating glucocorticoid concentrations, and some key cardiometabolic risk factors. This study aimed to investigate these associations in black South African adults, who are disproportionally affected by the metabolic syndrome and its related cardiometabolic risk factors. The dataset included black South African adults ( = 4,431; 56.

Adolescents' understanding of obesity: a qualitative study from rural South Africa.

Background: Levels of obesity are rising in South Africa, notably among adolescent females. Excessive energy-dense diets and physical inactivity are among the factors contributing to this increase. Given that these factors are largely behavioural, understanding young people's views of obesity can contribute to more targeted behavioural interventions.

Incidence and correlates of high blood pressure from childhood to adulthood: the Birth to Twenty study.

Background: There is growing evidence from high-income countries suggesting that hypertension developed in childhood and adolescence persists into adulthood. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of high blood pressure (BP) in urban black children.

Methods: We used data from the Birth to Twenty (BT20+) cohort in Johannesburg, South Africa constituting of children born in 1990 and who had their growth, development and blood pressure measured at six follow-up periods over the course of 13 years.

Molecular Conformation in Charge Tunneling across Large-Area Junctions.

Self-assembled monolayers are predicated on thermodynamic equilibrium; hence, their properties project accessible relaxation pathways. Herein, we demonstrate that charge tunneling correlates with conformational degrees of freedom(s). Results from open chain and cyclic head groups show that, as expected, distribution in tunneling data correlates with the orientation of the head group, akin to the odd-even effect and more importantly the degree of conformational freedom, but fluctuates with applied bias.

Pre-Hospital Administration of Remdesivir During a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Outbreak in a Skilled Nursing Facility.

Completion of a 5-day course of remdesivir was associated with approximately 17-fold increased odds of survival among a sample of 54 nursing home residents with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during the course of an outbreak from October to December 2020. Remdesivir was well tolerated; administration was logistically feasible in a pre-hospital environment.

Unintended health and societal consequences of international travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.

Background/objective: International travel measures to contain the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represent a relatively intrusive form of non-pharmaceutical intervention. To inform decision-making on the (re)implementation, adaptation, relaxation or suspension of such measures, it is essential to not only assess their effectiveness but also their unintended effects.

Methods: This scoping review maps existing empirical studies on the unintended consequences, both predicted and unforeseen, and beneficial or harmful, of international travel measures.

Discovery of the Selective Protein Kinase C-θ Kinase Inhibitor, CC-90005.

The PKC-θ isoform of protein kinase C is selectively expressed in T lymphocytes and plays an important role in the T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-triggered activation of mature T cells, T cell proliferation, and the subsequent release of cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2). Herein, we report the synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a novel series of PKC-θ inhibitors. Through a combination of structure-guided design and exploratory SAR, suitable replacements for the basic C4 amine of the original lead () were identified.

Collar pressure mapping: An evaluation of seven collar types used on working donkeys in Europe.

Background: Working donkeys represent an important source of energy worldwide. Poor working conditions and equipment affect their ability to work. Poorly designed, ill-fitted harness causes inefficient transfer of power and leads to health and welfare issues.

Long-term blood pressure trajectories and associations with age and body mass index among urban women in South Africa.

Background: Blood pressure (BP) is known to increase inevitably with age. Understanding the different ages at which great gains could be achieved for intervention to prevent and control BP would be of public health importance.

Methods: Data collected between 2003 and 2014 from 1 969 women aged 22 to 89 years were used in this study.

Case Report-Pediatric Brugada Phenotype from Accident Cocaine Ingestion.

Unlabelled: Electrocardiograms (EKGs) are rapid, non-invasive tests that provide invaluable insight into the pathologic processes plaguing our patients. We present a case of a two-year-old child found to have ingested cocaine whose EKG mimicked that of Brugada Syndrome. However, given the differences, we propose that the reason for this pattern was more likely a sodium channel toxicity secondary to the sodium channel blocking effects of cocaine, resulting in a brugada phenotype rather than a brugada genotype.

Glucocorticoids associate with cardiometabolic risk factors in black South Africans.

Circulating glucocorticoids are associated with metabolic syndrome and related cardiometabolic risk factors in non-Africans. This study investigated these associations in Africans, whose metabolic phenotype reportedly differs from Europeans. Adiposity, blood pressure, glycaemia, insulin resistance, and lipid profile, were measured in 316 African men and 788 African women living in Soweto, Johannesburg.